Casino on North Broad. The Provence

[Gladys]

Philadelphia’s second casino - France on North Broad Street?

[Giavella Water]

I don't understand why they don't build these casinos in the Naval base?

[JakeL]

Just to make it clear, the large green space in front of the casino in the renderings is the off-ramp for the Vine St Expressway. Here's a current Google Map aerial view: https://www.google.com/maps?q=900+n+...19130&t=h&z=18

[BarryG]

There was talk of Don Peebles and Joe Zuritsky interested in putting a casino downtown, no mention of that in this article. Too bad, I would much rather see something like this in Center City eating up a couple blocks around Market East.

[eldondre]

This location is probably just as good as cc. Its only a block or two north of vine with excellent highway and transit access. As well as good visibility.

[five apples]

If we are going to have a casino I would rather it be a place that doesn't just attract your addict gamblers, which seems to be what Sugar House is all about, here Bart seems to be shooting for a more Vegas type casino. Hard Rock is a good name brand and Bart seems to have a track record that could get the necessary funding. It would also provide a nice connection between what is going on near Spring Garden and City Hall.

[JakeL]

I'm trying to figure out what's going to happen to the submerged portion of the Reading Viaduct here. My fear is that it's going to get blocked off and the whole line will languish because of the final connector on Broad St. However, this could also be the piece that he offers up as a hook for the community and city by developing.

[mixiboi]

I don't understand why they don't build these casinos in the Naval base?

State deals with Harrah Chester(now Harrah Philadelpha) forbid that any casinos are built below Washington ave...

[BarryG]

State deals with Harrah Chester(now Harrah Philadelpha) forbid that any casinos are built below Washington ave...

Didn't the article say someone was looking down by the stadiums?

[BarryG]

This location is probably just as good as cc. Its only a block or two north of vine with excellent highway and transit access. As well as good visibility.

I disagree, being on the other side of Vine puts a barrier between the casino and the rest of Center City. What was exciting to me about having a casino at, say, Market East was that it would blend in the with the fabric of the city and it would make all the surrounding blocks more vibrant. People could partake in the city's sights, parks, and restaurants and walk to the casino; north of Vine that is more difficult, at least psychologically. The casino will feel more like its own contained world up there, especially knowing Bart's history.

Also given how the Piazza turned out I don't have high hopes for this project being particularly elegant or urban.

That said I prefer to see it here instead of on the waterfront, by the stadiums, or somewhere else off-center.

[Politburo]

State deals with Harrah Chester(now Harrah Philadelpha) forbid that any casinos are built below Washington ave...

Didn't the article say someone was looking down by the stadiums?

IIRC there is a 10-mile buffer for the Chester casino. I think there was another thread here where someone made a map showing that a location east of CBP falls outside this zone.. which is right where the Turf Club mentioned in the article is.

[eldondre]

I disagree, being on the other side of Vine puts a barrier between the casino and the rest of Center City. What was exciting to me about having a casino at, say, Market East was that it would blend in the with the fabric of the city and it would make all the surrounding blocks more vibrant. People could partake in the city's sights, parks, and restaurants and walk to the casino; north of Vine that is more difficult, at least psychologically. The casino will feel more like its own contained world up there, especially knowing Bart's history.

Also given how the Piazza turned out I don't have high hopes for this project being particularly elegant or urban.

That said I prefer to see it here instead of on the waterfront, by the stadiums, or somewhere else off-center.

setting aside blatstein himself, I think you're overblowing teh downside. the site is two tenths of a mile from the convention center which is about five minutes, it may be 12 minutes to the terminal from there, on foot. it's a reasonably central location. in the long run the goal is to shorten the perceived distance. broad and callowhill is about the same as broad and pine from city hall. maybe they'll finally address the awful intersection that is broad and vine.

[Scoats]

This seems like a great idea to me. Casinos don't interest me but I see very little to dislike about any of it. Plus Blatstein has an excellent track record.

[MNG1324]

Just to make it clear, the large green space in front of the casino in the renderings is the off-ramp for the Vine St Expressway. Here's a current Google Map aerial view: https://www.google.com/maps?q=900+n+...19130&t=h&z=18

The overhead map shows how close this is to the new Mormon Temple and the School district Headquarters. I'm sure there's going to some intense opposition to this, but of course there will be opposition anywhere you try to put a casino.

The retail above what's basically a 2 block long parking garage works for hiding the parking but at the street level this arrangement and the ramps to Vine Street Expressway will basically cut off anything North of this. You are creating an obstacle that's similiar to the way the Convention Center functions to the Eraserhood.

With the way north broad is developing anyway, I think is a bad design better than a slots barn but not the highest and best use for the area.

[eldondre]

The overhead map shows how close this is to the new Mormon Temple and the School district Headquarters. I'm sure there's going to some intense opposition to this, but of course there will be opposition anywhere you try to put a casino.

The retail above what's basically a 2 block long parking garage works for hiding the parking but at the street level this arrangement and the ramps to Vine Street Expressway will basically cut off anything North of this. You are creating an obstacle that's similiar to the way the Convention Center functions to the Eraserhood.

With the way north broad is developing anyway, I think is a bad design better than a slots barn but not the highest and best use for the area.

that's probably a godo analogy, the loft district residents do have to walk through the pcc. I guess the key will be what is on those streets. will it be inactive like the pcc or will there be any retail on the north/south streets? OTOH, those streets have weak pedestrian traffic generally...and it will strengthen broad.

[mixiboi]

The overhead map shows how close this is to the new Mormon Temple and the School district Headquarters..

The Mormon love Las Vegas...and The School District is looking to move out of that building, due to budget cuts...

[MarketStEl]

I don't understand why they don't build these casinos in the Naval base?

I see this question was answered already. It has to do with that 10-mile circle around "Harrah's Philadelphia" (a renaming, btw, that reinforces a point I made ages ago elsewhere about central cities and name recognition in metropolitan areas).

I'm trying to figure out what's going to happen to the submerged portion of the Reading Viaduct here. My fear is that it's going to get blocked off and the whole line will languish because of the final connector on Broad St. However, this could also be the piece that he offers up as a hook for the community and city by developing.

This project won't touch the City Branch cut at all. The City Planning Commission would like to put a bus rapid transit line in the cut, a move I support and one that takes away half of VIADUCTgreene's dream. That latter fact explains why (it appears) the group has mobilized its own staff and supporters to show up at the priority-setting workshops on the Central District Plan.

[MarketStEl]

I see that one of the new features of the new site software is a time limit on editing posts. So here's what came to me after I posted the last one:

Scoats' position is pretty close to my own. I think it counterproductive at best and harmful at worst to base an entire metropolitan economy on separating fools from their money by activating their dreams of quick riches - I don't think Las Vegas is easily replicable, and Atlantic City's experience reinforces that view. Besides, there's a saturation point for even this sort of activity, and we may have reached it already. But this project does include more than gaming, and besides, it's only one casino, and I don't think anyone in Harrisburg is eager to remove all the constraints on gambling in this state.

Confidential to Gladys and Jayfar: I'm not a Realtor®, but I work for one, and I too have a blog to promote, for both my boss' interest and my own: while I'm a hired gun and know that puts some fences up around what I can say on that blog, I remain a journalist foremost and at heart and would like to advance my career still. I promote that blog with every post I make here now, but I was part of this community before I took on that task. If I've written something on the blog that I think would make a good discussion-starter and see that no one has started a discussion on it, I'll start one with a link to the blog post, but I will look for discussions already started before doing that. I was at Blatstein's press-conference-cum-shindig and did write a post on it yesterday, the first of several I plan to write about this project and its ramifications.

[Jayfar]

Confidential to Gladys and Jayfar: I'm not a Realtor®, but I work for one, and I too have a blog to promote, for both my boss' interest and my own: while I'm a hired gun and know that puts some fences up around what I can say on that blog, I remain a journalist foremost and at heart and would like to advance my career still. I promote that blog with every post I make here now, but I was part of this community before I took on that task. If I've written something on the blog that I think would make a good discussion-starter and see that no one has started a discussion on it, I'll start one with a link to the blog post, but I will look for discussions already started before doing that. I was at Blatstein's press-conference-cum-shindig and did write a post on it yesterday, the first of several I plan to write about this project and its ramifications.

I've never perceived a problem with your posts or blog links, as your reputation as an actual journalist precedes you, not to mention that you've been posting since long before said blog existed (and elsewhere since eons before blogs were invented; shout out to the phl.* hierarchy on usenet).

[eldondre]

“The Atlantic City market has been declining for four years because they don’t have the product and infrastructure to support a variety of entertainment options. And the old casino law in Pennsylvania didn’t allow casino owners to do anything other than slots. It’s really an apples-to-bananas comparison between this project and those other facilities.”

from the hard rock rep
Blatstein swings for fences with Provence casino resort proposal | Philadelphia Real Estate Blog
and just to keep BarryG happy

Parkway Corp., which does parking management and realestate development, is likely to apply but is not ready with details.

"We're working on something we think is exciting," Parkway president Rob Zuritsky said.

Developer Ken Goldenberg says he is "fully exploring" applying for a casino license at a parking lot he controls at 8th and Market streets.

Clout: Is Blatstein stacking the deck for the city's 2nd casino license?