Civic Center talks still at a halt

Negotiations between the University and the city over the acquisition of the Philadelphia Civic Center have continued behind closed doors this summer. And at this point, no one will say when the negotiations will be finalized. "We're still very interested in the site and negotiations are continuing," Medical Center spokesperson Lori Doyle said this week. "But there is nothing new to say." Craig Schelter, executive vice president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation -- which handles the city's negotiations with the University -- said he does not foresee a finalized contract in the near future. "[There are] no planned future announcements," he said. "The parties have not reached an agreement on price." Senior Vice President of the Medical Center Gordon Williams announced the University's intentions to purchase the Civic Center on October 14, 1993. Since then, various city and University officials have pushed the purchasing deadline back -- first to spring of this year, then to this fall. But according to University officials, the deadline may be extended further. The Civic Center site will be transformed into a major extension of the Medical Center and serve as a focal point for the Southeastern Pennsylvania healthcare industry, Williams said. The development of the medical complex would take approximately 20 years, cost up to $1 billion dollars, and would create 4,500 jobs per year each year of the project, he added. A controversial aspect of the site development concerns the future of the Civic Center Museum and Convention Hall. Several local groups have disagreed whether the long-standing institutions need to be demolished in order for the planned medical complex to function properly. According to Jennifer Goodman, spokesperson of the Preservation Coalition -- an independent organization which advocates restoration and reuse of historic buildings -- the complex can function with the two old buildings standing. Neither the city nor the University has proposed a concrete plan beyond the demolition, she said. "We do not want to see the buildings demolished until specific plans and monies are in place," Goodman said. Executive Vice President Janet Hale said that the University was uncertain over the ultimate fate of the buildings, but that it would consider them in the overall context of the project. "I think that the ultimate site would have alternative uses for those buildings," Hale said. "But the final details have yet to be worked out."