5th Square's Steering Committee issues the following statement:

The removal of the housing component of the 76 Place project is a huge step backwards for Philadelphia, especially given our city’s massive housing shortage. Residential density lowers housing costs and reduces cost pressure on current housing stock. Canceling these units also jeopardizes meeting our Mayor’s stated goal of 30,000 new housing units in the next four years.

Any housing is better than no housing. Study after study suggests that new housing, especially in choice neighborhoods, at any income level, lowers costs throughout the entire market.

These 395 units, some of which were income-restricted, would have also provided the arena block and Chinatown with residents, visitors, and patrons around the clock and all year long. We are now left with a worse project with zero affordable units.

In the last several years, Philadelphia has seen anti-housing advocates and NIMBYism kill hundreds of units of housing, many designated affordable. Councilmember Squilla worked to remove the apartment tower because he claims that Chinatown residents said it “wasn’t affordable enough.” 

However, both PCDC (Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation) and AAU (Asian Americans United) have stated that they are not opposed to the housing component, and in fact, asked for deeper affordability as a stretch goal. In order to reinvigorate trust in this process, it’s incumbent upon all parties to come to a resolution that preserves these apartments.

5th Square is urging Councilmember Squilla and the arena developers to return to the negotiating table with the Chinatown community in order to preserve the best part of the 76 Place project.