The Burholme Park Expansion

Since learning of the disappointing news from Orphans' Court and from the King's Bench Appeal, many people in the area have provided advice, support, and encouragement for pursuing expansion into a portion of Burholme Park. While there has been much comment about the proposed expansion in the press, it hasn't adequately presented what Fox Chase considers to be some of most salient features of the discussion.

First, it is important to understand that people on both sides of the Burholme Park issue almost unanimously agree that Fox Chase Cancer Center needs to expand, and it needs to expand as soon as possible. Cancer is on pace to supplant heart disease as the No. 1 cause of death worldwide by 2010. The global cancer burden doubled in the last 30 years of the 20th century, will double again between 2000 and 2020, and will nearly triple by 2030. Importantly, the number of patients coming to Fox Chase Cancer Center alone is likely to double in less than a decade.

Second, with Fox Chase's growth inevitable, regional leadership must reflect seriously on whether or not Philadelphia wants Fox Chase Cancer Center to grow here or to grow outside the City. Currently, Fox Chase is the second largest employer in Northeast Philadelphia and the largest employer in the Fox Chase-Burholme area. Half of the Center's 2,500 employees reside in the City, and with 80% of our employees making more than $47,000 per year, our team members provide important economic stimulus to the City today. Furthermore, an independent economic impact report found that over the course of Fox Chase's twenty-five year $1-billion expansion program, nearly 4,000 permanent jobs would be created directly, along with more than 2,000 "indirect and induced" jobs.

Third, if the community wants Fox Chase Cancer Center to grow in Philadelphia, then ask yourself whether or not saving lives and developing new treatments for cancer justifies a compromise by which the majority of Burholme Park will not only remain undisturbed but will actually be enhanced. The proposed lease will only apply to 19.4 acres of the 69-acre Burholme Park. A significant portion of these 19 acres are already leased to a for-profit corporation for the purposes of operating a for-profit golf driving range, miniature golf course, and restaurant/snack shop. With the lease of park land, the Center has agreed to pay $1.25 million for the maintenance, repair, and improvement of Burholme Park, $7 million for improvements to the entire Fairmount Park system, and $4 million through the Improvement to Existing Facilities (ITEF) fund to purchase open space in the 10th City Council District, where the Park is located. Most importantly, the community must respectfully yet powerfully articulate that the value of human lives that will be saved by allowing Fox Chase to continue, unabated, with its internationally recognized excellence in the cancer treatment and research outweighs the value of 181 mature trees (which will be replaced with mid-growth trees on a 2-to-1 ratio by the Center)!

Finally, Fox Chase believes that the Orphans' Court decision used the wrong appropriate standard of review, and the decision was inconsistent with rulings from Courts of Common Pleas in other jurisdictions on similar issues. In addition, the Orphans' Court has substituted its judgment for that of the Philadelphia City Council, the Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, and the Fairmount Park Commission. The law surrounding the ability of a municipality to lease parklands is confusing and that Supreme Court's guidance is both necessary and appropriate.

On December 24, 2008, the Center initiated the process of appealing the decision with a petition to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to take King's Bench jurisdiction. The Center was notified on February 27, 2009 that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the King's Bench appeal.

Fox Chase appealed its case to the state Commonwealth Court. On June 8, 2009, Judges James Flaherty, Renee Cohn Jubelirer and Joseph McCloskey heard both sides of the case in a Philadelphia courtroom filled with a number of our supporters and neighbors. A decision is expected within 60 days, however the losing side may file an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court at that time.

Expansion is critical to Fox Chase's ability to save lives, develop new treatments for cancer, and provide thousands of good-paying jobs for local residents. As such, the Center's Board and leadership will continue to evaluate the best course of action to enable expansion to occur.