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On Wednesday, PES announced that the winning bid for the refinery site was the $240 million offer from HRC Philadelphia, a subsidiary of the Chicago-based real estate developer Hilco.
The city's Managing Director Brian Abernathy said the company indicated it would pursue a safer, more environmentally-friendly re-use.
"When you look at the refinery advisory group report, Hilco checked a lot of the boxes," he said.
But the next day, a group of creditors — including the refinery's union — announced they'd vote against the plan, in part, for the very reason that it does not create an opportunity for refining.
"We want the refinery to come back as a refinery or a fuel production facility and there's a possibility of that with the other bid," said Ryan O'Callaghan, head of the steelworkers local.
The other bid was from the Industrial Realty Group, which actually bid $25 million more than HRC, another reason the creditors — who have $1.2 billion in claims against PES — object to the sale.
The proposal goes before bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross on Feb. 6.