www.delcotimes.com
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Posted on Thu, Jan 31, 2008
City scores $47 million for stadium
By Timothy Logue
CHESTER ? With applause breaks befitting a State of the Union address, Gov. Ed Rendell and state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi announced the commonwealth’s plan to kick $47 million toward the construction of a new soccer stadium and mixed-use development along the Chester waterfront.
“When Dominic and I appear at a press conference, everybody’s winning,” Democrat Rendell said of the GOP Senate leader during a thoroughly collegial Thursday afternoon press conference at the Wharf at Rivertown development.
“This is utterly amazing,” said Chester Mayor Wendell N. Butler Jr. “It’s like the people from Publisher’s Clearinghouse are knocking on Chester’s door saying, ‘You’ve just won a half-billion dollars in prize money.’”
Standing in front of a “Let’s Kick-Start Chester” banner and alongside renderings of the stadium and a bustling waterfront, Pileggi said the $400 million project ? a mix of retail, office and residential space anchored by a $115 million stadium ? would help return Chester to “its rightful position as the cornerstone of Delaware County.”
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The state money could very well be the tipping point in bringing a Major League Soccer franchise to Delaware County by 2010. “The Philadelphia market just took a big step forward and is now well-positioned to receive an MLS expansion team,” said MLS Commissioner Dan Garber. “The opportunity to be part of a large-scale urban-renewal project along the historic Chester waterfront remains extremely appealing to us.”
Chester and the St. Louis, Mo., suburb of Collinsville are believed to be vying for the league’s 16th franchise.
In addition to the state aid, a minimum of $80 million in funding for a 20,000-seat, multi-use stadium will come from a private investment group that includes former Philadelphia School Reform Commission Chairman and Chester Upland Board of Control member James Nevels of Swarthmore.
Delaware County and the city of Chester have pledged another $30 million for the project, which will be built on a 50-acre parcel located just south of the Commodore Barry Bridge.
The development is expected to create more than 2,600 construction jobs, 360 permanent jobs and generate more than $1.7 billion in total economic activity, $670 million in personal earnings and $335 million in tax revenue.
Rendell also touted the 4-1 ratio of private-to-public dollars being used to finance the project, calling it “a great deal for the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.”
After the press conference, the governor predicted the development “would change the face of Chester forever.”
The Buccini/Pollin Group of Wilmington, Del., ? responsible for the transformation of that city’s waterfront, as well as the old PECO power station ? will develop the property.
“I expect more traditional retail, not the outlet shopping like we have in Wilmington,” said managing partner Robert Buccini, who predicted all phases of construction would be under way by year’s end. “There will be chain and other types of restaurants mixed in with entertainment and several different types of stores.”
Buccini said the project is challenging on many fronts, beginning with the land itself. “Before you can put people on the property, it needs substantial remediation (from industrial contamination) and has to be raised out of the flood plain three to seven feet,” he said. “All the foundations will be resting on 100-foot-deep piles.”
The price range for the 186 town homes and 25 apartments slated for the site is $190,000 to $400,000.
“We’re going to start marketing by the end of the year,” said Buccini, who believes the first phase of development will take three to five years. Another 200 apartments and additional office and retail space could come in the second phase of development.
Buccini also envisions a river shuttle running from Rivertown to Philadelphia. “Harrah’s would be a logical stop along the way,” he said.
Several state, county and local officials turned out for the event, among them House Democratic Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans, state Reps. Thaddeus Kirkland, D-159, of Chester, and Bryan Lentz, D-161, of Swarthmore, and four members of Delaware County Council, including Chairman Linda Cartisano.
Cartisano thanked her predecessor Andrew Reilly for his work in bringing the deal together and told Rendell the county had plenty of other projects in the works.
“One thing we’ve proven in Delaware County, first with Harrah’s and now with this (project), we get things done,” said Cartisano, a lifelong Chester resident. “Governor, this is where you put your money, in Delaware County.”
Kirkland, who pushed for a supermarket in any development plan (the city does not have one) as well as a direct economic benefit to the Chester Upland School District, said he was satisfied that what’s good for the developers, investors and county will also be good for the residents of his city.
“It’s more than just a major league soccer stadium and a major league team, it’s a chance to bring major league educational opportunities to our children,” he said. “If it’s done right ? and I know it’s going to be done right ? (it will) be a major league score for the residents of the city of Chester.”
After the press conference, Kirkland said he would like to see a supermarket and other retail stores placed near the Wellington Ridge development on Highland Avenue between 10th and 11th streets. He also talked about a small percentage of the soccer stadium gate money being earmarked specifically for the school district, though MLS President Mark Abbott later told the Daily Times no such designation has been discussed to date.
The Chester Upland School District was completely cut out of the revenue-sharing arrangement for Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack, which has delivered millions of dollars to the county and city.
“I’m hoping that the start of this construction mushrooms into more development,” said Kirkland, who drew laughs and more than a few flashbulbs when he embraced Pileggi, his longtime political foe.
If the Rivertown development fails to spur investment and foot traffic across Route 291 into the business district, Kirkland said “the heart of our
