Letters: Riverfront projects need parking, retail

ISSUE | DEVELOPMENT

Riverfront projects need parking, retail

As CEO of Tower Investments, I respect the Design Advocacy Group but take issue with several points in its commentary ("Room for improvement in two Blatstein projects," Monday).

The plans for a big-box shopping center at the former Schmidt's Brewery in Northern Liberties, which DAG opposed, were not mine. Northern Liberties had the property zoned "strip shopping center/area shopping center" before my ownership. When a proposed city development at Penn's Landing failed to materialize, I moved my design plans for that canceled project to the Schmidt's site, which Tower Investments had acquired, and created the award-winning Piazza.

As for Tower's mixed-use project on South Columbus Boulevard, it is not a transit-oriented development. The area has one SEPTA bus stop. Residents must have cars to get around, and cars require parking spaces.

Regarding DAG's opposition to the retail component, developers must have mixed uses to make residential development attractive. I won't develop a project that's doomed to fail.

Tower looks forward to continuing to work with DAG to develop successful projects of which the city can be proud.

|Bart Blatstein, Philadelphia