Morning Headlines: Art Commission Approves New Whole Foods

Yesterday the Philadelphia Art Commission convened to discuss several projects (among them a grievously unattractive 9/11 memorial), including the proposed Whole Foods complex, aka Rodin Square, that would take the place of the Best Western Hotel at 21st and Spring Garden.

PlanPhilly reported on some of the commission’s lingering concerns about the project: the use of stucco; the “pedestrian” quality of the design; the bulk of the complex given the site; the lack of soft edges, and an organic feel; the amount of glass on sunny days.

Despite these, the commission did give the overall project a thumbs up. The 9/11 Memorial was not so lucky–but then, it doesn’t have a Whole Foods attached to it.

• Art Commission quashes 9/11 Memorial, OKs Rodin Square

Other headlines…

• The Philadelphia Housing Authority has changed its plans for the Queen Lane Apts in Germantown–or it seems right now, says NewsWorks. Instead of demolishing, PHA may keep the structures and gut them. As always, however, any action is at least a year away. This is reassuring: “We’ve spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and we’re nowhere closer to where we were,” says a PHA rep.
• philly.com reports that Atlantic City’s casino unions are protesting Revel’s use of part-time labor, saying “29 percent of Revel’s nearly 3,400 workers are part-timers.”
• Mayor Nutter will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. today to welcome a new company to town. Brand.com, which manages online reputations, has moved its HQ into the Curtis Center and is expected to add 100 new jobs this year.
• Should Ed Rendell run for mayor again? That’s an actual question that people are asking, according to the Philly Post, which also has a poll for those with strong opinions on the matter.