Robert Ambrosi Presented Development Project Proposal onJuly 20th at the OCCA Developments Committee Meeting

By Janet Kalter

Mr. Robert Ambrosi, CEO of ARC Properties, Inc., presented his development project proposal for 401-437 Race Street. The site is the old Pincus Bros. Maxwell site and the project proposal encompasses the entire block - 5th to 4th Street and Race to Florist Street. It is to be called Franklin Place.

The development package includes: a 140-room hotel, a 32,000 sq. ft. restaurant / entertainment space, and an interior parking facility, all built on the existing structure. A future low-rise residential condo / rental component will include retail on the ground floor. Mr. Ambrosi is on a fast-track schedule with this proposal and hopes to break ground before the end of this year.

The hotel would be developed in partnership with Choice Hotels International (Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Rodeway Inn, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge) Cambria Suites division. The emphasis would be on a "family hotel". The hotel would have a restaurant, a bar, swimming pool, conference room, and fitness facility on the fourth floor (the second and third floors are for parking) with six floors of hotel rooms above that.

The huge restaurant / bar /bowling alley entertainment space, (think the size of Dave & Busters), has not yet been defined in detail. Currently, Orange County Choppers is the planned occupant.
For more information on Orange County Choppers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_County_Choppers
http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/hog_brawl_DGIaJp3YxntDfDynaIrtbL

Mr. Ambrosi describes it as a family-oriented version of the Orange County Choppers Roadhouse now being built in Newburgh, NY by Advent Entertainment. Mark Advent, who developed the New York New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, has licensed the OCC brand. For information on Advent Entertainment, Orange County Choppers (of reality TV fame) and others likely to be involved in the project, go to:
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100510005461&newsLang=en

Mr. Ambrosi, with the support of Councilman DiCicco's office, proposes is to get an ordinance through City Council. An ordinance would allow him relief from the terms of both the zoning code and Old City's zoning overlay without negotiating the ZBA variance process.

It is up to our community to help define that ordinance. An OCCA Developments Committee sub-committee, dedicated to working with Mr. Ambrosi over the past 18 months, has created a sixteen-point list of ordinance conditions which are intended to address and allay community concerns. To see the list go to: http://oldcity.heroku.com/news/view/138

He has agreed, in principle, to all but one: the elimination of an electronic billboard on the east-facing wall of the hotel. This billboard is an area of concern for many of us. In Mr. Ambrosi's initial renderings, it is a six-story, vertical Integrated Digital Sign (IDS), better known as a LED billboard. It is the equivalent of a huge television screen that will be glowing and flashing images. Mr. Ambrosi assures us that it will be smaller than the renderings indicate, recessed into the building, and angled to face westbound bridge traffic. Since the IDS would be facing northeast, it may be visible to area residents.

We know from the press that Mr. Ambrosi's push to get the project under way by December 31st is in order to obtain the $10,000,000 recently allocated from the state. According to Gary Tuma, a spokesman for Governor Rendell, the debt-authorization bill included this allocation for "construction and other related costs". He explained, "The capital budget will fund economic-development projects that will attract businesses to or keep business in Pennsylvania, or allow them to expand. It is all with the goal of creating jobs and boosting Pennsylvania's economy."

Mr. Ambrosi is pleased to report that he has the support of Governor Rendell, Mayor Nutter, and Councilman DiCicco. They are all, understandably, looking for ways to create jobs and attract business.

Buildings are very permanent things. We live with them for decades. They contribute to shaping the developmental direction of communities. Hopefully, the present condition of our economy is less permanent. We need to keep an appropriate perspective: in what ways will this project affect our community's future?

That question will be hard to answer until we have more information.
But as concerned members of our community, we need to pay attention. Stay informed. Go to the links provided above and become familiar with the hints we have so far.

If possible, come to OCCA's Developments Committee meetings at 8 AM every other Tuesday at Christ Church's Neighborhood House.
The next meeting is scheduled for August 3, 2010.

We will email the most current renderings we have for the Franklin Place project upon request.
You can e.mail your comments or concerns to us at: occadevelopmentscommittee@gmail.com