Foxwoods hasn't given up its parcel along the waterfront, but it is preparing to seek approval from the Gaming Control Board for a move to Eighth and Market streets.
Local casino opponents were concerned at a fall press conference, but Foxwoods is planning to move forward with a relocation to Eighth and Market streets. (file photo)
Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia is one step closer to requesting permission from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to relocate from its original spot at Columbus Boulevard and Reed Street along the waterfront to East Market Street in the former Strawbridge & Clothier building.
"We're going to file a petition to relocate once we have the zoning from the city, so the board has the complete package when we go to them," Foxwoods spokeswoman Maureen Garrity said, adding there is no time frame for presenting the proposal.
In a public meeting between the Connecticut-based casino group and the board April 8 in Harrisburg, Foxwoods said it had an "understanding" with Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, owner of the former, long-defunct department store at Eighth and Market streets.
While that meeting signified Foxwoods' intent to relocate, no formal decision will be made by the seven-member board until it receives an official petition, Richard McGarvey, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, said.
"Until we actually get that petition filed with us, we can't start that process to see whether they can move or not," he said, adding before the decision is made, the board will hold hearings to review public comment.
But the Columbus-and-Reed site, which is 30-percent owned by the 800-member Native-American tribe Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation with the remainder belonging to Washington Partners Community Charities L.P., which is made up of real estate developers Peter DePaul and Ron Rubin, Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider, former 76ers President/General Manager Billy King, former Phillies centerfielder Garry Maddox, music mogul Quincy Jones and former Temple University basketball coach Dawn Staley, is still on Foxwoods' radar if the board denies the transfer.
"We've agreed to look at this alternative site," Garrity said. "We still reserve our rights to the South Columbus site."
The battle lines may have shifted to Chinatown, but locals are steeling themselves for whatever may come.
"I don't want them here, but I don't want them [in Center City]. It's so pretty [along the riverfront]. You can see the tug boats and the ships, but there's no access," resident Isabel Ashourizadegan, of Second and Reed, said.
Riverfront Communities United chairwoman, Rene Goodwin wants the City to avert a disaster, especially with PennPraxis set to release next week its detailed vision for the Riverfront.
"If two casinos are on the waterfront, then the vision is depleted," she said of Foxwoods possible return east. "There's so much better use of the land -- better economically and aesthetically."
However, Casino-Free Philadelphia founder Jethro Heiko said the slots parlor is out of the area for good, even if the Center City location falls through.
"It will never come back to South Philly," he said. "These guys don't have the money to build from the ground up. They made it very clear. I don't think people should be worried about it coming back to South Philly."
The clock is ticking and the dollar signs keep mounting for Foxwoods Philadelphia, who can’t seem to catch a break in its high-stakes plan to bring slots to South Philly.
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