After a lengthy battle, it appears that the glare of the golden arches will not radiate from 43rd and Market streets.
Apparently coming as a result of a barrage of neighborhood opposition, along with chemical contamination on the site, McDonald's has decided to completely scrap the proposal to open a franchise at the location.
Originally announced after McDonald's bought the property in October 1999, the plans called for the restaurant to be completed by the fall of 2001. However, stiff neighborhood opposition continued to delay construction, and may have led to McDonald's eventual decision to not move forward with the project.
"Well, obviously there was some neighborhood opposition," said Steve Reiff, McDonald's Philadelphia regional marketing director. "There were also some contamination issues from the previous owner."
The main source of the neighborhood opposition -- and the group that organized a legal fight against the proposed restaurant -- call themselves Neighbors Against McPenntrification and is led by the Rev. Larry Falcon.
According to Falcon, the site was severely contaminated with tetrachloroethylene, commonly known as TCE. Over the objections of the neighborhood group, McDonald's obtained permission to clean out the site using a vapor extraction system, which Falcon claims was severely disruptive and even can be carcinogenic.
"We suggested they do bioremediation at the site, and they said no. ... They destroyed our backyards, it was incredible."
Falcon claims the decision by McDonald's not to build at the site came as a result of the ensuing legal battles over the contaminated site.
"When the judge did not decide in their favor with regards to the vapor extraction system, they were just spending too much money to fight," Falcon said. "It was definitely the neighbors' opposition, and it was fortuitous across the country that McDonald's had a downturn economically."
Reiff confirmed that the economic downturn of the past several years has had an impact on the growth of the nation's largest fast-food restaurant.
"Our development of new sites has really been scaled back," Reiff said.
Falcon's group has claimed that the University was attempting to relocate the McDonald's that currently sits at the corner of 40th and Walnut streets.
Penn Business Services spokesman Tony Sorrentino said that is not the case.
"There are no plans" to relocate the McDonald's, Sorrentino said.
Eric Goldstein, executive director of University City District, was adamant that his group had not been involved with the McDonald's decision.
"We have never had anything to do with it," Goldstein said.
