Sixteen companies have expressed interest in all or part
of about 200 vacant acres known as Southport, at the eastern end of the Navy Yard
in South Philadelphia.
They include energy companies, marine terminal operators,
auto processors, and multipurpose terminal operators with ideas for the
maritime property, south of the Walt Whitman Bridge on the Delaware River.
The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) said
Tuesday that it would evaluate the responses and make recommendations to its
board, which will have the final say.
Southport is three waterfront parcels: 119 acres referred
to as Southport Marine Terminal; 75 acres known as Southport West Terminal; and
the Pier 124 "north berth," a 1,132-foot-long finger pier.
"We've been well aware of the potential for
Southport for quite some time, and it's now clear that we weren't alone in that
assessment," said PRPA chairman Charles Kopp. "The breadth and
quality of the proposals make us very optimistic about Southport's
future."
Key to the authority's assessment will be job creation
and economic activity. The preference will be a firm with a solid business
plan, rather than one holding land for eventual development.
"Our goal is to bring jobs and economic activity to
the region," Kopp said. "We want plans that will produce jobs in the
near future."
Among those expressing interest was Philadelphia Energy
Solutions, operator of the former Sunoco refinery, which wants to develop an
energy port with a wharf to handle oil tankers.
The 16 also include marine terminal operator John Brown
Jr., who runs a paper-import business from piers in South Philadelphia, and Leo
and Tom Holt Jr., whose family runs the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South
Philadelphia and owns Gloucester Terminals L.L.C. in Gloucester City.
The other 13 offering proposals by Friday's deadline
were: Atlantic Realty; Global Auto Processing Services; Katoen Natie Group;
Liberty Property Trust; MarkWest Energy Partners; OHL Infrastructure Inc.;
Walsh Construction; Anthony Bruttaniti, representing Philadelphia Global Trade
Center L.L.C.; Liberty Energy Trust; LNG America; Navigator Gas L.L.C.; T.
Parker Host; and WesPac Midstream L.L.C.
Brown, on behalf of Penn City Investments &
Affiliated Cos., said his proposal called for Southport as a marine terminal
operation for container and break-bulk-style shipping. Break-bulk cargo is
shipped on pallets, in barrels, drums, boxes, or bags.
Tom Holt of Holt Logistics Corp. said Tuesday that
Southport was "a unique opportunity to jump-start investment in two
industries, both the port industrial and energy."
He said he supported creating Southport as an energy hub,
while "at the same time, we support the port industrial."
Currently, the Packer terminal "is at capacity; it's
full," Holt said. "We are looking for ways to grow." His firm's
proposal envisions the phased development of the existing marine terminal into
the Navy Yard.
Brown in late August hired Vincent J. Fumo, the former
state senator and a longtime family friend, to advise him after, Brown said, he
learned that terminal competitor Holt Logistics may have talked with
Philadelphia Energy Solutions about teaming up to run Southport without a
public bid process. The head of Philadelphia Energy Solutions has denied that
any private deal was sought.
On Oct. 1, the PRPA issued a "request for
expressions of interest," inviting development concepts from the
maritime-industrial community.
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) would
like a marine terminal to support traditional stevedoring jobs on at least some
of the Southport land. None of the 16 firms submitting proposals is a steamship
company.
BY THE NUMBERS
Southport is three waterfront parcels: 119 acres
Referred to as Southport Marine Terminal: 75 acres. Known
as Southport West Terminal.
1,132 feet Length of a finger pier known as Pier 124
"north berth."
Source: Philly.com
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