After putting her full support behind the Philadelphia 76ers’ proposed arena on East Market Street, Mayor Cherelle Parker also revealed a number of further real estate development plans for the struggling shopping corridor, write Jake Blumgart and Ryan W. Briggs for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

One plan is the proposal for a further 720 units of housing on Market Street’s south side, which would be developed by Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. This is the parent company of the Sixers.

An earlier proposal saw the Sixers propose an additional 395 units in a tower above the arena.

This plan, however, has some opposition as stated by Councilmember Mark Squilla.

“My colleagues in Chinatown are really opposed to that housing development on top the arena,” Squilla said. “They took that as a middle finger to Chinatown. … So I’ve been working with the development team to remove that piece from the project.”

He added that Chinatown neighborhood groups saw the tower as an insulting concession of the little value offered by the Sixers to ease the paint of building the arena.

Parker’s plans, however, were welcomed by business groups. They say interjecting 1,100 residential units and a large hotel would add much-needed interest from consumers, as well as foot traffic to the area.

Read more about Mayor Parker’s East Market development plans in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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