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Ikea to Locate in South Philly
Councilman DiCicco Brings Deal to Successful Conclusion
By Ed Goppelt
Thursday, 12/12/02
(1039746928109)
Councilman Frank DiCicco brought home the bacon today, brokering a deal that will allow Ikea to build in Philadelphia. Read DiCicco's press release. At times stumbling over his words, an exhausted DiCicco thanked a long list of people at today's Council session for their help in making the deal happen.
The deal is a big win for Philadelphia, and a real achievement for the Councilman. By bringing the Ikea deal in for a soft landing, DiCicco delivered for a host of people: the Port, the Unions, his political ally Senator Fumo, the Mayor, the Developer and above all his constituents in the 1st district.
The new Ikea store, which is expected to move hundreds of millions of dollars of furniture a year, will employ 500 people, and contribute millions of dollars to city tax coffers. In addition, with new land at its disposal, the Port is poised to expand its automobile shipping and military cargo business, which would create new, high paying jobs for Longshoremen.
I've always been impressed by DiCicco's ability to pull a rabbit out of the hat when his back was against the wall. Certainly, Ikea comes none too soon for DiCicco: Ever since his support of Bill 629 enraged community groups around the city, the Councilman has been on the defensive. He lost in his bid to succeed Buddy Cianfrani as leader of the 2nd ward when the local committeemen rebelled. The Electricians have had him in their gun sights for some time now.
But the Councilman seems to do his best work under pressure. DiCicco had been speaking with the Ikea parties for over a year with little to show for it when Ikea's deadline forced the issue. Three weeks of frenzied negotiations ensued, during which time I suspect the Councilman put his talent for crisis driven negotiation to good use.
Although I personally found the brinksmanship employed by DiCicco hairraising, he ultimately delivered bigtime for the City and for his constituents. And that's what counts.