Development Projects

The Bristol Township Planning Commission has recommended final approval for two proposed developments and preliminary approval for a third. The votes were 3-0, with two members absent. At a meeting Tuesday night, the commission recommended that the Township Council approve Stan Wortman's plan for a building to handle large laundry equipment. Wortman proposes to build in the Magnolia Industrial Park, Section 2. The recommendation was contingent, however, on Wortman receiving approval of the Bucks County Soil Conservation Service and the Bucks County Planning Commission.

Mayor Nutter will seek to reassert the preeminence of the Planning Commission as the shepherd of growth and development in Philadelphia this evening in what aides are billing as a major address. "I'm here tonight to say as emphatically as I can that I want the Planning Commission to resume its leadership role in shaping our vision of the future and managing the development of our city," Nutter is expected to say tomorrow at the Academy of Natural Sciences, according to an early draft of his speech.

In the hope of spurring economic development in disparate parts of Montgomery County, commissioners approved a $2 million loan Thursday for a Norristown business center and a $3 million grant for enhancements to conservationist John James Audubon's Lower Providence Township house. The loan to a Norristown developer for renovations to the sagging Logan Square shopping center followed a $1.9 million county grant awarded in September to USM, a janitorial-services company moving its North American headquarters into the complex.

A federal judge in Trenton has begun weighing the fate of former State Sen. Wayne Bryant, who is already serving a four-year sentence for a corruption conviction and who could end up with additional jail time if convicted in the case pending against him. Testimony in the nonjury trial before Judge Freda L. Wolfson ended in February, but the judge gave the prosecution and defense a May 8 deadline to file legal briefs. The documents, more than 100 pages from the prosecution and 58 pages from the defense, summarize and expand on arguments and evidence introduced during the three-week trial.

Thomas D. McCloskey, 80, formerly of Haverford, a builder, developer and sports enthusiast, died of complications from cancer Oct. 31 at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla. In 1962, Mr. McCloskey became president of McCloskey & Co. Builders when his father, Matthew - who founded the company in 1910 - was appointed ambassador to Ireland. In the 1960s and 1970s, Mr. McCloskey supervised the construction of prominent structures around the country and in the Philadelphia area.

Pennsylvania lawmakers who want to stop the Delaware River Port Authority from lavishly spending toll revenues on dubious economic-development projects have the right intention. But it's too late to do anything about money already spent, and their bill's fate is so murky it may not be worth pursuing. Over the last decade, the DRPA has shelled out $375 million for development projects that include local sports stadiums, museums, concert venues, and, most recently, a memorial to the President's House near Independence Hall.

Philadelphia has become two dramatically different cities - a flourishing downtown with impressive buildings and luxury homes and the wealthy residential areas of Chestnut Hill and the Far Northeast, juxtaposed with the abandonment and decay in our oldest neighborhoods. The contrast between the two cities can be traced to public and private decisions to invest Philadelphia resources disproportionately in center city. Providing subsidies and resources to downtown development in hope that they will "trickle down" to the neighborhoods is not working.

Matthew B. Weinstein, 75, a developer of major apartment complexes in Philadelphia and the Main Line suburbs who was heavily involved in civic organizations, died yesterday at his Merion Station home. Mr. Weinstein began his development career in 1944 when he purchased two Haverford apartment buildings, Haverford Villa and Concord Arms. During the next four decades, he went from managing those buildings to becoming the developer of several thousand apartment units. Mr. Weinstein pursued his development projects primarily through Rosemont Construction Co., which he founded and served as president.

What's a residential developer to do in these lean times with no banks lending money and few willing new home buyers? Well, besides planning on attending Phillies playoff games Wednesday and yesterday, Wayne developer Joe Duckworth is transitioning his Arcadia Land Co. into a consulting business for commercial banks and other institutions financing development projects. The goal of Arcadia Development Services, Duckworth said, is to help lenders "minimize their losses. " That could mean, for instance, getting them to force a change in the project before the first shovelful of ground is turned.

There are two kinds of people counting the days until Mayor-elect Michael Nutter fires David Auspitz, the blustering, bullying chairman of Philadelphia's Zoning Board of Adjustment. The first can't wait for him to go because they're hoping Nutter will usher in a more thoughtful approach to planning. The other bunch just want to get their variances locked in before Auspitz's erratic, deal-oriented reign finally sputters to an end. Since Nutter's inauguration is Monday, that makes today their last chance for pushing through skyline-defining projects, including a massive mixed-use development on the former Schmidt's Brewery site in Northern Liberties.

A federal judge in Trenton has begun weighing the fate of former State Sen. Wayne Bryant, who is already serving a four-year sentence for a corruption conviction and who could end up with additional jail time if convicted in the case pending against him. Testimony in the nonjury trial before Judge Freda L. Wolfson ended in February, but the judge gave the prosecution and defense a May 8 deadline to file legal briefs. The documents, more than 100 pages from the prosecution and 58 pages from the defense, summarize and expand on arguments and evidence introduced during the three-week trial.

Saying it marked the end of an expensive era, the board of the Delaware River Port Authority on Wednesday spent $20 million of its remaining economic-development funds for non-transportation projects. The board's two unappointed members, Pennsylvania's auditor general and treasurer, opposed the spending, arguing that the money should have gone for transportation projects or toward reducing the agency's $1.4 billion debt. The vote on the last $29.9 million of the DRPA's controversial economic-development funds sent about $10 million back to the agency for future capital projects and $19.7 million to such projects as local food banks, a new cancer center in Camden, student housing for Rutgers-Camden, and Cooper River rowing facilities.

Heads bowed, worn sacks of seeds slung across their shoulders, the farmers of San Mateo Ozolco toil to exhaustion, planting and harvesting corn by hand near an active volcano 50 miles from Mexico City. Barely eking out $7 a day, they feel the pull of jobs in America, where minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. The incentive to cross the border, legally or otherwise, is almost irresistible, even though the United States is hundreds of miles away. In the last decade, an estimated 2,500 of San Mateo's 4,500 residents have moved to the Philadelphia region to find work, according to a Latino advocacy group.

When real estate started waning a few years ago, developer Kelly DeFeo started collecting restaurant ideas to turn into a sports bar. The result is Chubby Balboa's Sports Bar & Grill , which just opened next to the Acme in Concordville Town Center (Routes 1 and 322, Glen Mills, 610-558-4130). As the name implies, the interior is aiming for a knockout, with arches and columns reminiscent of a casino's interpretation of ancient Rome, beneath a black, industrial ceiling. About four dozen TVs dot the interior.

Henry E. Hockeimer Jr., the Ballard Spahr lawyer who has become a top choice for clients involved in sensitive investigations, has landed another dicey assignment - one that could cast his own firm in a critical light. Hockeimer is the point man in a review by Ballard Spahr of alleged conflicts in the proposed development of a $200 million Family Court building in Philadelphia. The legitimacy of the project came into question late last week when The Inquirer reported that a lawyer appointed by the state Supreme Court to select a site for the project also was a partner of the developer, raising concerns of conflicts.

In the hope of spurring economic development in disparate parts of Montgomery County, commissioners approved a $2 million loan Thursday for a Norristown business center and a $3 million grant for enhancements to conservationist John James Audubon's Lower Providence Township house. The loan to a Norristown developer for renovations to the sagging Logan Square shopping center followed a $1.9 million county grant awarded in September to USM, a janitorial-services company moving its North American headquarters into the complex.

Employment has started to recover in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties, U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews (D., N.J.) said yesterday - a sign, he hopes, that the economy is turning a corner and that the federal stimulus program has begun to take hold. Andrews said the number of jobs in the three counties had grown to 605,000 by June, up from 599,600 in February though still far short of the 626,500 in January 2007. Growth from February to June was slightly less than 1 percent. "I don't think anybody can claim that things are good," Andrews said in a conference call with reporters.

Pennsylvania lawmakers who want to stop the Delaware River Port Authority from lavishly spending toll revenues on dubious economic-development projects have the right intention. But it's too late to do anything about money already spent, and their bill's fate is so murky it may not be worth pursuing. Over the last decade, the DRPA has shelled out $375 million for development projects that include local sports stadiums, museums, concert venues, and, most recently, a memorial to the President's House near Independence Hall.

Gov. Corzine will not veto plans to spend $11 million in bridge-toll revenues on six economic-development projects in Camden and Philadelphia despite objections from commuters, Corzine's spokesman said yesterday. Corzine supports the spending plan by the Delaware River Port Authority for the projects, including $3.5 million for a President's House memorial near Independence Hall, spokesman Robert Corrales said. "These types of projects are essential investments to help maintain the economic vitality of the region, particularly in the midst of a national economic crisis," Corrales said.