Developer Bart Blatstein has responded to critiques of his proposed waterfront development in a letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer in which he says Inga Saffron is living in a "fantasy land" and assures his ability to do mixed-use development.
He writes:
Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron is in fantasy land when she argues that my South Philadelphia developments should have fewer cars and a more urban form. [...] The Schuylkill has seen more development than the Delaware because it's in the central business district and close to 30th Street Station. Mixed-use development is needed to be attractive for residential development.Blatstein's proposed project is on the former Foxwoods site along the Delaware waterfront. It would include 670 residential apartments and townhouses, as well as a strip mall and gas station.
Saffron's recent column about Blatstein's projects called the Foxwoods plan "out of date" and "slapdash."
But Saffron isn't the only critic. An online petition has been circulating to halt the project, calling it a threat to the progress made on the Delaware Riverfront Master Plan. It currently has 863 signatures of the 1,000 needed.
You can read Blatstein's full letter here.
· Letter: Blatstein's vision to develop South Philly riverfront [PI]
· Petition Calls to Halt Bart Blatstein's Waterfront Development [Curbed Philly]
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