PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia 76ers organization is scrapping plans for a 25-story apartment building from its proposal for an arena on Market Street.
The Sixers had pitched building the massive $250 million complex on the north end of the proposed arena. City Councilmember Mark Squilla told NBC10 that he asked the team to drop the tower from its plans.
“Some members of the Chinatown community did not see this as a development that was affordable or benefited them,” he said in a statement. “They thought that the plan was an insult and disingenuous.”
The building would have included 395 apartments, with 79 designated for affordable housing. Squilla said he would support a project if all of the units were affordable.
Last month, Mayor Cherelle Parker announced her support for the $1.3 billion arena project.
NBC10 is a broadcast partner of KYW Newsradio.