The state finance committee, however, has yet to approve thelegislation, which has the backing of Gov. Ed Rendell. Statelegislators have introduced an alternative plan. If passed, thealternative would have to be approved by the City Council. If statelegislators approve the KOIZ, members of the Center City OwnersAssociation vow to continue their fight to block such a designationby taking their case to court.

KOIZ status, which forgives state and city property and businesstaxes through 2015, was initially created to revitalize blightedareas and bring new business to the city. This land is notblighted, CCOA argues, and Comcast is an existing Center Citytenant. It is the largest Center City office tenant, and it haslobbied hard for the KOIZ designation, promising to nearly doubleits workforce of approximately 1,000 here once the building iscompleted, and triple its workforce Downtown over the nextdecade.

Folded into the City Council's vote was KOIZ status for a newhome for the Philadelphia Regional Produce Terminal, which hasoutgrown its 24-acre site between Packer and Pattison avenues andthreatened to move to Camden, NJ. Its merchants association votedto stay in Philadelphia, following assurances that the state wouldappropriate $150 million for construction of a new facility onColumbus Boulevard and Oregon Avenue and grant it KOIZ status.