SugarHouse Casino's current design

By Jason Kleinman

Two recent developments now appear to put the planned SugarHouse casino on a fast track for development. Yesterday’s Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision to appoint a Special Master to mediate disputes, along with increasing pressure from Harrisburg, now brings the plan closer to reality. As a result of this new momentum, SugarHouse may have less incentive to adopt design changes recommended by a PennPraxis study.

Last year, Mayor Nutter adopted PennPraxis’ Action Plan for the Central Delaware that called for creating a more vibrant, open, and green riverfront. The plan did not include SugarHouse’s casino design. However, since the previous administration approved the casino project plan, SugarHouse is under no obligation to alter its design to fit in with the action plan.

Harris Steinberg, Penn Praxis Executive Director, would still like the casino to make some changes. As he pointed out, “[The action plan] incorporates the will of the people and one would hope a business the size of SugarHouse would want to be a good neighbor and fit in with this plan.”

Site along Delaware Ave for SugarHouse

Steinberg advised that a good design would help the casino become more profitable. According to a design review (pdf)of both casinos completed by PennPraxis, it is feasible for SugarHouse to make some change that would make it more compatible with the action plan. A recent Plan Philly article outlines these modifications:

“Those changes included dividing the structure into a series of narrower, taller pieces, reducing parking by half and placing more emphasis on mass transit and pedestrians, extending streets and green space through the casino parcels and moving up the casinos’ timeline for the building of non-gaming uses so that condominiums, restaurants, shops, and other street-level businesses open early on.”

However, these changes could be costly and create an even longer delay. We spoke to SugarHouse spokeswoman Leigh Whitaker, who mentioned that while there is no meeting currently scheduled to discuss design changes, SugarHouse would be willing to talk about the issue with city officials. “We want to have a cooperative relationship with the city,” she said.  Whitaker continued, “The success of our business really requires that we work well with the city and we want to do that.  The city has some concerns and now that the mayor has indicated that he’s willing to work with us, we want to work with him in return.”

Steinberg has not spoken directly with SugarHouse officials, but he is not very optimistic that it will actually make any significant changes to its design. He told us, “The slot machine casino model does not necessarily lend itself to a more thoughtful approach to design. It’s much more of a car-friendly destination…We’d love to have the conversation, but I don’t know if their current business model really supports it.”

We want to know what you think.  Do you think SugarHouse should still be pressured to make design alterations to better fit in with the waterfront plan? Will SugarHouse’s current design have a negative impact on the overall waterfront construction plan?

Jason Kleinman is an intern for It’s Our City and a Master of Public Policy candidate at Rutgers University