RFPs / RFIs

2007 RFP

The Redevelopment Authority (RDA, now PRA) issued and RFP in 2007, and it called for mixed-use commercial proposals. Before the solicitation, the 2002 amendment to the Logan Redevelopment Area Plan had extended the boundaries north to Loudon Street and proposed mixed-use development for the expanded area. The amended plan also noted that an RFP was being drafted for the Triangle and that it might include Tax Increment Financing. It followed a long series of meetings in 2006–07 that came to nothing. Then-RDA director Terry Gillen later said she couldn’t reconstruct why those talks failed, but guessed the community may have expected a great deal or the developer took on more than it could handle.

Two proposals came in, both in summer 2007: one from the Goldenberg Group and one from Bart Blatstein’s Tower Investments. Both were mostly retail, with roughly 350,000 square feet of leasable space.

Both proposals were judged incomplete and rejected. The Urban Land Institute suggested the RFPs’ unclear vision may have been part of the reason. By late 2008 the market had shifted so much that, in Gillen’s view, even an approved project probably wouldn’t have survived the credit crunch. A closer look also found the environmental conditions were likely worse than people had thought.

The follow-up ULI review (2009)
Instead of reissuing the RFP, the RDA asked ULI Philadelphia to review the site. Its main findings:

Fixing the site, including stripping roughly the top eight feet of ash-laden soil and refilling it, would cost at least $50 million. whyy
The RDA didn’t fully own the site. The Philadelphia Housing Authority and some private owners held strips of it, and some parcels had liens. whyy
There was no residential market. The site could support about 100,000 square feet of retail, but new stores would mostly draw customers away from nearby retail. whyy
The panel concluded that market conditions didn’t support another RFP at the time. It recommended the RDA first gain clear title to the whole site and use it for interim low-density uses such as a tree nursery or community gardens. whyy

2015 RFP

When Goldenberg was later chosen as the developer, his response to the 2007 RFP was cited as evidence that he was the only developer who had stayed interested in the site. The city rejected two proposals before Goldenberg took the project on in 2015. Goldenberg eventually dropped it, and PHDC issued a new RFP. That newer RFP drew a single response, and the city chose not to select that developer.

2023 RFP

The city did issue another RFP in fall 2023, after the Goldenberg Group walked away from the project. It ended without a developer being chosen.

Why it was issued
Goldenberg had planned a basketball recreation center with a library and computer lab. When that fell through, PHDC announced a new RFP. Neighbors said the development team told residents they hadn’t been able to raise enough money.

What the RFP said

PHDC issued it on behalf of the PRA. It sought developers to buy and finance development of the 35-acre site, limited to land the PRA owns.
Bids would be reviewed by an interagency group drawn from DHCD, PHDC, PRA and the City Planning Commission.
The site is zoned CMX-3, which permits commercial mixed-use buildings up to five stories.
The RFP did not specify a use. It asked for projects that would benefit the community and show strong urbanism and architecture, and it ran 16 pages.
It offered no public money. Bidders had to arrange their own funding for the upfront site costs, and OCF Realty reported that any response requesting a subsidy would be rejected.
It stressed equitable and inclusive development and scheduled an information session for mid-November.
Bids were due January 11, 2024.

The PRA received a single response, from Gilbane Development Company, and decided not to select it. A city spokesperson wouldn’t explain the decision. Gilbane declined to share its proposal and said it accepted the PRA’s choice. The city quietly ended the effort in July 2024.

The main obstacle was the same as in 2007: soil remediation with no public subsidy. Mo Rushdy of the Building Industry Association estimated remediation at up to $30 million for a 500-unit housing project, and he called the site cost-prohibitive without upfront subsidies or federal funding.

2026 RFI

On January 21, Mayor Parker proposed putting a modular housing factory on the Triangle.The City issued a formal Request for Information inviting proposals on site requirements, operations, workforce capacity and financial models.