Months after plans to build a new arena for the Philadelphia 76ers near Market Street were abandoned, leaders in government and real estate are announcing a new plan to renew Market East.

Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration is forming a new task force called the Market East Advisory Group, a partnership of stakeholders including Comcast, the Sixers, Macerich (the owner of the Fashion District), Thomas Jefferson University, Brandywine Realty Trust, Visit Philadelphia and several other city departments, developers and community development groups.

The group's main focus will be the areas of Market Street between City Hall and Independence Mall.

Comcast and the Sixers have spent $60 million to purchase land along the corridor and are working to knock down buildings there, said Tom Reid, chief legal officer and secretary of Comcast. He appeared at a news conference along with Parker and several other civic and business leaders involved in the advisory group.

"We are working daily, we're choosing architects, this is for both Market East and the arena," Reid said. "We're choosing contractors, we're choosing service providers."

Little was said about the plans for the land on Market, but Reid noted that all eyes will be on the city in 2026, when the city hosts World Cup matches and is home to celebrations of America's 250th anniversary.

The city will also be soliciting ideas from the public at this link on Phila.gov. This process to develop a vision will take about a year, City Councilmember Mark Squilla said.

Parker noted some projects are already underway on Market Street, including a $1 million investment on new lighting around the facade of the Convention Center headhouse building, a $16 million project to improve the streetscape along Market Street in Old City, and $13 million to restore the Greyhound bus terminal on Filbert Street that was shuttered when the Sixers planned to build 76 Place there.

Gerard H. Sweeney, CEO of the Brandywine Realty Trust, is leading the advisory group.

"We can make the Market East of tomorrow so much better than the Market Street of today," Sweeney said. "I have no doubt that we can restore Market Street east to its rightful place as an economic engine, a neighborhood connection, once again a place to create amazing memories."

Sweeney said the group will address several concerns about the corridor.

"Cleanliness, unhoused persons, street safety, neighborhood connections, product mix and sequencing, infrastructure investment, long-term planning, public policy initiatives, job growth and economic development — all those things and more are on the table," he said.

Plans to revitalize Market East corridor have stalled before

Market East — the area along Market Street east of City Hall — has struggled in recent years. 

In its heyday, Market Street was a major retail hub fueled by its location as a major artery in the city. Over the past decades, its retail presence has declined and retailers have closed, including the Macy's in the Wanamaker Building. 

An announcement from Parker's office says the "Reimagining Market East Initiative" is "a bold effort to transform this vital corridor into a world-class civic, commercial and entertainment destination, restoring its prominence as Philadelphia's Main Street."

Market East gained major attention in 2024 and 2025 amid talks to build a new arena for the Sixers atop the site of the shuttered Greyhound bus station on Filbert Street bordering Chinatown. The Sixers later agreed to stay in South Philadelphia and play in a new arena to be built in the Sports Complex, after several hearings and bills in City Council were met with opposition from Chinatown advocates but passed nonetheless.

At the time, sources told CBS News Philadelphia other plans unrelated to the Sixers were in the works for Market East. A representative for IBEW Local 98, the politically powerful local electricians' union, said Comcast — a partner on the South Philly arena with the Sixers' owner Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment — had committed to help revive the corridor.