Civic Center deal on inndefinite hold

Talks between University and city officials over acquisition of the Philadelphia Civic Center have been suspended indefinitely, placing the deal in jeopardy, the chief University negotiator said yesterday. Gordon Williams, senior vice president of the Medical Center, said yesterday that while the deal is not dead, no date has been set for resumption of talks with the city. "We are still interested in the site and they are still interested in selling it," he said. "But due to a number of factors, we both agreed to put the discussion on hold for an indefinite period of time." Williams, who has lead the University's negotiating team, said he is "more pessimistic than the city" about the chances for a final settlement. The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania had planned to locate a $1 billion ambulatory care complex on the 19.5 acre site. Williams said HUP is now considering alternative plans. The University announced it intended to buy the Civic Center in October 1993. Negotiations dragged throughout last year, finally becoming bogged down over a number of issues this August. Williams characterized the disagreements as relating to "the value of the land," including its price and who will pay for demolition of the building to make way for the HUP facility. Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, a University alumnus, has said that uncertainty over federal health care reform has given the University cold feet about deal. But Williams, who said that this may be true, added that it is not the major stumbling block at this stage. Neither Williams nor city officials would discuss the city's asking price or how much it differs from what the University is willing to pay. Some reports have put the discrepancy at tens of millions of dollars. Last spring, Rendell suggested $10 million would be a fair price for the land, prompting outrage from some City Council members who claimed such a price constitutes a giveaway. City Council member Jannie Blackwell said yesterday that the Council wants a fair deal for both the city and the University. She said that the city and the University must be very far apart on the price if even Rendell -- perhaps the University's biggest fan in city government -- says the University is not willing to pay enough. Blackwell also said she is encouraged that University President Judith Rodin has "creative new usage ideas" for the Civic Center site. And she added that the city desperately needs money, so the deal will likely go through eventually. Rendell has said that negotiations could begin again and that the deal is not in as much trouble as University officials allege. He has also said that most issues of price have been settled and that the disagreement now primarily concerns who will pay the $20 million cost of demolishing the Civic Center. Williams said while no negotiations are currently taking place, "the lines of communication are still open." The medical complex HUP planned to build on the site would expand the hospital's outpatient care capability, as well as augment its acute care and research facilities. The project would take 20 years to complete and generate at least 4,500 jobs per year until the construction is finished.

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