COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC MEETING BEFORE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY AND PUBLIC WORKS - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1998 12:15 p.m. - - - BILL No. 980460 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of City of Philadelphia, to enter into sublease agreement with Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, for use by the City and affiliated agencies, of office space located at 990 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under and being subject to certain terms and conditions. BILL NO. 980682 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, without consideration, a deed conveying fee simple title to a certain tract of City-owned land, with the buildings and improvement thereon situate on the northeasterly side of 63rd Street south of Eastwick Avenue, under and subject to the terms and conditions of the Philadelphia Industrial and Commercial Development Agreement between the City, the PAID, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN AUGUSTA A. CLARK, Chair COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILMAN FRANK DICICCO COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 2 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS I N D E X Bill 980460: Commissioner Andres Perez . . . . . . . . . . 4 Department of Public Property David Grasso. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Spring-PAC Associates Joseph Grace, Esquire . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Counsel, Spring-PAC Associates Bill 980682: Paul Deegan, PIDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Richard Rueda, President and CEO. . . . . . . 29 14 Transfreight Systems, Inc. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 P R O C E E D I N G S
Good morning, good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The Committee on Public Works and Public Property is now convened for the purpose of hearing two bills before this committee. We'll establish that a quorum is present. In the room and at the table are: Councilman Frank Rizzo; myself, the chair, August Clark; Michael Nutter, who just struck his knee; Frank DiCicco; and Joan Krajewski. Would the clerk please read Bill No. 14 980460. Thank you.
Bill No. 980460 - An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into a sublease agreement with the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, for use by the City and affiliated agencies, of office space located at 990 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under and being subject to certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. (Commissioner Andres Perez comes 4 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 forward.)
Sir, would you identify yourself for the record, spell your name for benefit of the stenographer, and proceed with your testimony. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Good morning, Council. My name is Andres Perez, A-N-D-R-E-S, P-E-R-E-Z, and I'm commissioner of the Department of Public Property.
Thank you. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Good morning. I'm here today to testify in support of Bill No. 14 980460, which was introduced May 28, 1998, authorizing the commissioner of public property, on behalf of the City, to enter into a 14-year sublease agreement with the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development for 64,980 square feet at 990 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under and being subject to certain terms and conditions. This space at 990 Spring Garden will house several city agencies including, for the police department, the Advanced Training Unit, the 911 Training Unit, the Civil Affairs and Conflict 5 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 Prevention Unit, the Equal Employment Opportunity Unit, and the Gun Permit Processing Unit. For the Department of Licenses and Inspections: The Housing Code Enforcement Unit, the Business Regulatory Unit, the Weights and Measures Unit, and the Commercial Industrial Inspections Unit. For the Department of Streets, it includes the Third Survey District Division of the Streets Department. Three of the units -- the 911 Training, L&I Business Regulatory Division, and the Streets Survey -- are currently housed at 1600 Arch and must be relocated. Several police departments units, including Civil Affairs and Conflict Prevention, Gun Permitting, and Equal Employment Opportunity, are being relocated from 319-323 Race Street. It's been determined that these buildings are structurally unsafe and not economical for permanent rehabilitation. The administration's been working to relocate these units from these facilities. The movement of these units will be the first step in vacating 6 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 these buildings. Public Property's continuing to search a facility to house the remaining Internal Affairs-related groups from these two buildings. The final units -- Police Advanced Training and L&I's Housing Code Enforcement Unit -- are being relocated from 1415 North Broad Street. The quality of space in this facility is substandard in comparison to our other facilities where City employees are housed, and building does not have sufficient available rental space to accommodate the expansion requirement for L&I employees. The proposed leased space at 990 Spring Garden will have sufficient space to handle current and projected space needs of all these groups. Additionally, the building's been renovated in its entirety, including all the major systems and interior finishes. The quality of the space will be far superior to any of the facilities from which these groups are being relocated, and will be comparable to the newly-renovated municipal service building and One Parkway facilities. 7 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 All of these renovations will be done at the landlord's expense, and the cost will not be passed onto the City through the lease. The landlord is also paying for the City's interior space-planning efforts and is providing a $20,000 moving allowance. When this relocation effort began, the Department of Public Property considered numerous buildings. Based on the needs of the particular tenants being relocated, the search was narrowed down to three facilities. And proposals received from the owners of the three facilities, and a comparative cost analysis was undertaken. The analysis showed that renting space at 990 Spring Garden Street would be the least expensive option while still meeting all of the City's needs for both the quantity and the quality of space. I ask for your favorable consideration of the bill and a suspension of rules for the passage upon Council's second reading. This completes my testimony, and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
I'm sorry, 8 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 Commissioner, I did read your testimony. You didn't deviate from it, did you? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: A couple of words here or there.
In any material way? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: No material difference.
All right, I thank you very much. Are there any questions by members of the committee?
Yes, Madame Chair. Mr. Perez. In a nutshell, is it fair to say that of all the departments and agencies that you mentioned in your testimony, all of them, for one reason or another, would have had the need to find a new home regardless -- COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Yes.
-- whether it was 990 Spring Garden or any other place. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Exactly, yeah.
So it wasn't just directed to find a tenant for 990. 9 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Right.
These people needed a place to go. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Yes, sir.
Are there any other questions? With respect to the building on North Broad Street, Mr. Perez, you will remember that we held this bill over to see what, if anything, could be done to keep that building from being salvaged. Do you have any suggestions as to what we might tell those owners? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: I guess my suggestion would be that we -- myself and the owners -- meet and discuss future prospects. You may recall, Councilwoman, that Council's own study, as well as the administration's study preceding this rather massive space consolidation, always assumed that there could be as little as 15 percent or as much as a percent flux factor -- for lack of a 25 better word. 10 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 By that, I mean that no matter how well we planned our large deals or medium-sized deals to consolidate and place and get better rates, the City's changing need for space year to year, funding year to funding year, which is also affected by grants received to the City that require new services and new locations, there never will be a time where we will be able to 100 percent lock up and close in our space requirements on a long-term basis. So there is a to percent 13 assumption of what they refer to as "flexible 14 space requirements," situations that develop 15 short-term or long-term that are not in long-term 16 plans, that are largely grant-driven or may be 17 driven by unexpected hiring. 18 So, yes, there's going to be a prospect 19 for a number of landlords in the city to make some 20 kind of deal with us on smaller space blocks from 21 time to time. 22
You and I need to 23 sit with that ownership to see what, if anything, 24 makes sense for the City's position -- 25 COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Yes. 11 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460
-- as well as for those owners. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Yes.
Are there any other questions or comments by other members of the committee?
It's a very light question. Commissioner, no relocation money's in this deal, right, for any of the departments moving? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Uh. . .
It's a bad joke. Are there any other comments from members of the committee? (No further comments or questions at this time.)
Then I thank you, 12 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 Commissioner. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Thank you.
Would the clerk please read the second matter before us.
Oh, there's somebody else to testify on that? I'm sorry, I apologize. I wouldn't want you to think we're in a hurry or anything. (Messrs. Grasso and Grace come forward.)
Please identify yourself to the record, spell your name for benefit of the stenographer, and proceed with your testimony.
Thank you. Good morning, Madame Chairperson and other members of --
I can't hear you, though. Come a little closer. Yes, sir?
Good morning, Madame Chairperson and other members of City Council. 13 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 My name is David Grasso, G-R-A-S-S-O, and I am here this morning on behalf of Spring-PAC Associates and our agreement with the City to lease office space to a number of City agencies in a building which Spring-PAC has purchased and rehabilitated and placed back on the tax rolls in the Spring Garden Street community. While we are specifically here this morning to discuss Council Bill No. 980460, which simply lengthens the term of the lease from 12 one-year terms to one 15-year term, I would like 13 to speak first for a few minutes about the 14 Spring-PAC project and what it means in a positive 15 way for the Philadelphia economy. The building that Spring-PAC owns, and which it has leased space to the City and the state, was formally owned by Packer Press Company, it was vacated by Packer Press in the early 1980s, and it soon feel into serious disrepair. There were numerous fires in the building, which cost the city money every time the fire department was forced to respond. There were numerous Licenses and Inspections violations of the property which went uncured for many years. 14 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 Vagrants, trespassers, and drug dealers took up residency in the building. Drug sales and prostitution and other criminal activities, all of which negatively affected the quality of life in the community occurred in and around this building on a daily basis prior to our rehabilitation. The economic drain on the city was just as severe. Tax bills and liens and Licenses and Inspections violations totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars piled up unpaid and ignored by the building's then-owner. In every way imaginable, this building was a blight on the community and a drain on the taxpayers. Corporate neighbors in the community have been affected as well. The Spaghetti Warehouse restaurant, the Federal Express company, the American Red Cross, and the Philadelphia Traffic Court are some of the building's neighbors, and they've all been -- you know, this rehabilitation of this building will help them all tremendously. Spring-PAC Associates stepped to the plate in this building and turned this building around. We purchased the mortgage and foreclosed 15 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 on the building. One of the first things we did was work with the City to clear up and pay all those tax liens left delinquent by the previous owners. We reached an agreement with the City and paid $300,000 -- over $300,000 to the City to satisfy those liens. That was just the beginning. Not only is this building now back on the tax rolls, generating tax ratables and revenues for the City, Spring-PAC has spent more than $5 million to completely renovate and rehabilitate this building, which had deteriorated into such a community eyesore. We redid the facade of the building, which was dangerous and in disrepair, we reinstalled a new sprinkler system, a new water and sewer hookup, a new HVAC system, new windows, a new roof, a fire alarm system, four new elevators, and many, many other things. By the time Spring-PAC completes this rehab, we will have spent upwards of $8 million on the building. The result: modern, first-class space offered to the City and accepted through the competitive bidding process at an extremely affordable price. We believe that the affordable 16 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 price, along with the quality of the space, and our reputation for developing buildings on time and on budget all contributed to the Spring-PAC selection by the City. 50 per square foot, and that is a very competitive rate for this location. Moreover, the City was actually paying much for the office space at other locations where some of these City agencies were housed -- and the City was paying for parking space as well. We are providing parking space at no additional cost to the City.
'Cause there's a little parking lot and a whole lot of people going to be in the building.
I think we're providing about 50 to 60 spots to the City, roughly. And the building has with it, I think, about 110, so we're giving the majority of the parking that comes with the building. 17 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 A portion of the City's Streets Department, Licenses and Inspections, and Police Department are poised and ready to move into the Spring-PAC's rehabilitated building in just a few weeks. As I mentioned at the outset of my testimony, the lease is already signed and executed. In addition, the state's Welfare Department, their Department of Probation and Parole, and the Department of Labor and Industry have all signed leases for the building as well. The Private Industry Council of Philadelphia is going to share space with the Department of Labor Industry as a part of an innovative pilot one-stop program for people seeking jobs and employment training. The State is very enthusiastic about this unique and innovative program to start up -- which is set to start up in the Spring-PAC building. We estimate that between 750 and 1,000 city and state governmental employees will be housed in the building by the time all of the tenant agencies are moved in. While most of these government jobs are already existence, this project is serving as a 18 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 catalyst for several dozen new permanent private-sector jobs as private tenants have signed leases or are planning to lease space in the building. One example is Eastern College from Villa Nova, which is planning to lease space and create to new jobs. In addition to these 8 new jobs, our construction and rehabilitation work 9 on the building is generating work for several 10 area construction workers. 11 To summarize, Spring-PAC took a vacant 12 building, which was a blight on the community and 13 on the quality of life in the Spring Garden Street 14 Community and a drain on the city's taxpayers, and 15 turned it 180 degrees around. The building is 16 completely rehabilitated and back on the tax 17 rolls. We have signed and executed leases with 18 the city and the state to lease modern, 19 first-class office space to these governmental 20 agencies at a very economical and competitive price. The Spring-PAC project is good for the community, it's good for taxpayers, and it's good for the overall economic health of Philadelphia. To that end, we have also provided the committee 19 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 with copies of letters written by Mayor Rendell and Council President Street in support of this project. I would respectfully ask you to act expeditiously on Bill No. 460 and report it favorably out your committee at the full City Council meeting, with a suspension of the rules so that this project can move forward and serve and service the citizens of Philadelphia and their government. Thank you very much for taking the time to hear my testimony on behalf of Spring-PAC, and I will be happy to take any questions that you may have.
Thank you, sir. Are there questions on behalf of members of the committee?
Yes, Madame Chair. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Grasso for that testimony. In respect to the parking issue, does Spring-PAC still own and operate the surface parking lot at Eighth and Spring Garden, across from the Philadelphia Traffic Court? 20 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460
Actually, that is not owned by Spring-PAC but it is owned by an affiliated partnership with Spring-PAC.
There are sufficient -- I mean, I remember when I was at Traffic Court a few years ago that that parking lot was sort of underutilized so I assume that there will be parking spaces available to the 990 Spring Garden Street facility as well.
We have offered to the Public Property Department that scenario, and we'll be happy to do it.
Okay. And the other question is: In relationship to the maintenance and security of the building on a daily basis, will that be providing jobs? I mean, you're creating jobs?
And who will be in charge of those jobs? Is that Spring-PAC that will be handling the maintenance? 21 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460
An affiliate of Spring-PAC, which is USRA Management Company, will manage the building. There will be a first-class security system, there will be a full-time, on-duty security guard and a maintenance man which will be hired -- you know, we're actually in the process now of hiring someone for -- two people for that. So that's going to create two new jobs.
One for maintenance -- well, actually two for maintenance -- one part-time and one full-time. And one full-time security guard and a part-time security guard -- two, so there will be four.
Okay. And being a Philadelphia company, I'm sure giving I'm sure you'll be giving Philadelphians first consideration.
I have a question 22 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 for Commissioner Perez.
You can just join them at the table, Commissioner. Mr. Rizzo?
Thank you, Madame Chair. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Yes, Councilman?
Commissioner Perez, in reference to the 50 or 60 off-street parking spots at this facility, I assume it's the operating departments that will be your tenant's decision. Is it going to be limited to City-owned vehicles that will park there? Will the people that have City-owned vehicles also have the luxury of off-street free parking, and people that have to use their personal vehicles will be forced into the paid parking lot? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: It's a combination of all of the above in the sense that there's an immediately adjacent parking lot which has reserved spaces for City vehicles proportionately allocated between the departments that we've got in the building. There's a -- across Tenth Street, 23 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 there's the Spaghetti Warehouse lot, commonly referred to as "The Spaghetti Warehouse lot," which we can use during the day, and that's incorporated into the lease -- there's no 6 additional charge there. I don't remember the number of slots on that lot.
30 or 40? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Right. The City, just across another little street, owns a parking lot, which we had used to support the sheriff's activity at the Justice Center before it was -- rather at City Hall before the Justice Center was built. That gives us another 30 to 50 slots, depending on how spaces are used. The Spring-PAC Associates have agreed to manage the lot for us. And, basically, what happens is, if you're not among the first to get in in the day to a reserved slot for your City vehicle, you go to those backup lots. When those fill up, there's ample street parking in the immediate neighborhood. If you want more secure parking, a block further away, towards Eighth Street, closer 24 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 towards the Court House, the Traffic Court, there's more parking.
Madame Chair, Joseph Grace, counsel for Spring-PAC. Just one question, if I may? As David Grasso of Spring-PAC pointed out, there's a timing issue here in the sense that these tenants are -- the City tenants, some of the State tenants are very, very, soon to move in. If there is a suspension of the rules --
My question would be: When would it next be on the Council calendar to move forward?
And then held over for one week and then heard on second and final 25 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - BILL 980460 passage the following week.
That's what I thought; I just wanted to ask you that to clarify. And thank you very much.
We're happy to clarify it for you. Are there any other questions or comments by other persons in the room who wish to be heard to speak for or against this bill? If so, please indicate your willingness now. (No response.)
There being none, we thank you for coming. Commissioner, we will now have our discussion about 13-14 at another time. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Yes.
The clerk will now read the next bill to be considered by this committee.
Bill No. 980682 - an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (hereafter referred to as "PAID"), without PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Bill 980682 consideration, a deed conveying fee simple title to a certain tract of City-owned land, with the buildings and improvement thereon situate on the northeasterly side of 63rd Street south of Eastwick Avenue, under and subject to the terms and conditions of the Philadelphia Industrial and Commercial Development Agreement between the City, the PAID, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation.
Thank you, sir. (Paul Deegan and Richard Rueda come forward.)
Good morning. Please introduce yourself to the record, spell your name for benefit of the stenographer, and proceed with your testimony.
Good morning. Paul Deegan, D-E-E-G-A-N, PIDC. And next to me is Mr. Richard Rueda, from Transfreight, who will speak in a few moments. We're here to testify in support of the bill. The bill authorizes the City to convey a property at 63rd and Eastwick Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia to the Philadelphia Authority for 27 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Bill 980682 Industrial Development. After conveyance to PAID, the property will be sold to Transfreight, Inc., the owner and developer of an adjacent 15-acre warehouse and distribution facility, which soon, I may add, may double in size to a 50-acre, I think, or a 30-acre facility. The company needs the land for parking and circulation within their site to get their trucks around the existing building. The City acquired this vacant parcel of land in 1976 to provide maintenance access the Airport High-Speed Line. This property backs right up to the Airport High-Speed Line property. The entire property is only 7,000 square feet in area, and the company actually only needs to acquire approximately 3,800 square feet. We didn't determine the actual amount of land to be acquired until after the ordinance was introduced, but after several field trips with myself, SEPTA, and Transfreight, we determined that they needed less land. So I would like to amend the ordinance 24 by substituting a new legal description which reduces the area to be sold to Transfreight to 28 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Bill 980682 3,800 square feet. And I have a copy of the legal description, the new legal description here.
And I also have the disk. I can give it to the chief clerk's office. The property will be sold to Transfreight for $3,500, based on the fair-market value of industrial land in Eastwick. It's approximately $40,000 per acre. The net proceeds from the sale will be deposited in the City's General Fund, and the remainder of the parcel will be continued to be used by the city and SEPTA. This will not disturb the City's access to the Airport High-Speed Line. And that was the purpose of our field visits with SEPTA, to make sure that they could still get their trucks down there next to the site. I would like to ask that the committee consider the bill favorably. And because the facility's already under construction, I ask that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading at the next regularly-scheduled meeting of Council. I thank you for the opportunity to 29 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Bill 980682 testify. I would like to introduce Mr. Richard Rueda, who's the president of Transfreight, sitting to my right. Transfreight is a company that's been in Philadelphia for, I think, 6 years. They were relocated by the airport 7 expansion. 8 And unlike some of the other companies 9 who were relocated, Mr. Rueda made an 10 extraordinary effort to stay in Philadelphia. He 11 employs 300 people on this site, and I think it's 12 a good ordinance and good sale for everybody 13 concerned. 14 Thank you. 15
Thank you. Good 17 morning, sir. Please spell your last name for our 18 stenographer and proceed. 19
R-U-E-D-A. I'm president 20 and CEO of Transfreight Systems, which is an 21 intermodal transportation company located here in 22 Philadelphia at our corporate headquarters. 23 We were relocated from the airport to 24 this new site, which consists of about 15 acres. 25 We need the additional space in order to continue 30 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Bill 980682 the phase I development, which is running at about $5 million and will then constitute the largest intermodal facility, when completed in Phase II, in the eastern part of the United States. It consists of a 400,000 square foot warehouse and about acres of container parking and lifting. 8
I'm missing the 9 term that describes your business. Are you saying 10 "air modal"? 11
We combine two forms of 14 transportation -- rail and surface, air and 15 surface, erosion and surface. 16
All right, thank 17 you. 18 Are there any questions by members of 19 the committee? Mr. Rizzo? 20
The 7,000 square 24 feet, could you explain -- does SEPTA, when they 25 use City-owned land, pay the City of Philadelphia 31 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Bill 980682 for the use of that land?
Councilman, I believe that SEPTA uses this land and other facilities as part of the overall lease agreement with the City to operate the transportation system. 'Cause actually, the Frankford el, I think, is owned by the City, the Airport High-Speed Line is actually owned by the City, and there's a master lease with SEPTA to operate and maintain these facilities, so. . .
So it's part of the general -- I think they call it the lease lease-back.
The remaining square feet of the parcel, it will not -- will have right-of-way to it?
And it would -- is this land going to be considered for sale? SEPTA has a habit, like many organizations, of hanging on to things they don't necessarily need. Has it been determined that SEPTA has no need for this -- or has need for this facility? 32 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Bill 980682
Yes, Councilman. They have a roadway, which physically goes from 63rd Street underneath the overpass so that they can get down to inspect the High-Speed Line. So there is a visible roadway there, which, for the most part, sits today within the parcel that's not going to be sold. So that this actually won't affect their roadway, but they do use it continuously. I think they have to inspect the High-Speed Line.
Okay. My concern is that -- glad to hear of this company's growth, but I just wouldn't -- I hate to see you in a situation in a few years where you would need more and not -- and then come back at us and it not be available.
I appreciate your concern, but there is -- it's -- the only reason we need this sliver of space is because the building that was there that has to be remodeled needs more turning space for the truck to go around. We have no expansion in that area. We do have a reservation on the remaining 20 acres where we're putting up the -- and that's just being finalized 33 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Bill 980682 now -- the 400,000 square foot warehouse. So it will be a $20 million project when we're finished.
And we hope that they will come to PIDC to buy extra land rather than looking for more City land 'cause we own land next door.
It's all for the city. And we do appreciate your faith in the city as evidenced by your willingness to expand. Are there other comments by members of the committee? Councilwoman Krajewski?
Are there other persons in the room who wish to be heard to speak 34 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Bill 980682 in favor of or against? (No response.)
Good morning, Madame Chairwoman and members of the committee. My name is Ken Sipos. I wasn't going to testify; I just wanted to clear up that we purchased this piece of land for maintenance for the Airport High-Speed Line. And when we were requested to assist in the expansion of this property, we arranged to have the -- have it inspected to see how much room 17 SEPTA needed to get into and out of the High-Speed Line.
Is it your testimony that the remaining plot of land continues to be useful to us?
And that the sale of this piece of land does not detrimentally 35 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Bill 980682 impact on our continued use?
Okay. Are there other persons in the room who wish to be heard to speak in favor of or against this bill, which is properly before the committee? (No response.)
There being none, then the public hearing is adjourned. - - - 36 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Public Meeting
We are now in our public session. I'll entertain a motion from Councilwoman Krajewski with respect to Bill No. 6 980460. And they need a suspension of the rules.
Madame Chair, I move that Bill No. 980460 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation with a suspension of rules so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
All in favor, say aye? All opposed, say nay? There being none, Bill No. 980460 has been reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation, and with the further recommendation that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at the next stated session of Council. Councilman Rizzo, would you give us a motion with respect to 980682.
Okay. Does this require a suspension of the rules? 37 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS - Public Meeting
Okay. I move that Bill No. 980682 come out of this committee with a favorable recommendation, and that the rules of Council be suspended so that it could be heard at its next regular session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It's been properly moved and second that Bill 980682 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation, and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next stated hearing of Council. All in favor, say aye? Opposes, nay? It is so ordered. Moved that the meeting be adjourned? So ordered. (Adjourned at 11:47 a.m.) - - - 38 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Wednesday, October 28, 1998, were reported and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY AND PUBLIC WORKS BILL NO.'S 980460, 980682 __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, Registered Professional Reporter