The 76ers’ stunning reversal on their plans for a Center City basketball arena is another blow for East Market Street, one of downtown Philadelphia’s most beleaguered commercial corridors. The basketball team’s owners have long pitched their plan as a much-needed boost for the corridor. Now, with the 76ers teaming up with Comcast Spectacor and staying in South Philadelphia, City Hall officials, the team and Comcast sought to assuage concerns that the sports complex’s gain would be Center City’s loss. The Sixers retain options on an array of properties on the south side of Market Street, which they initially proposed to redevelop as residential and retail projects in tandem with the arena. What such an effort looks like now is unclear, and no details were offered. Retail vacancy is rife along East Market Street, and many of its office buildings have not seen their occupancy rebound after COVID-19. The urban mall known as the Fashion District (formerly the Gallery) reopened just before the pandemic and has continued to struggle. The Wanamaker Building next to City Hall is losing Macy’s, its anchor tenant and the last remaining department store on East Market Street. Parker has made the revitalization of the commercial corridor a top priority and said her administration will now prioritize a master plan for the area.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 1/14/2025