PHILADELPHIA-A group of local maritime entities has filed alawsuit in the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania seeking a reviewof the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority's decision to exchangeits 45-acre Pier 98 Annex property for an approximately 29-acreparcel owned and occupied by Houston-based Sysco Corp. The PRPAboard approved the swap by a 7-to-2 vote on Sept. 22.

The lawsuit, filed by the International Longshoremen'sAssociates District Council of Philadelphia and Wilmington, DE; thePhiladelphia Marine Trade Association, and the MaritimeStakeholders Group, claims that PRPA over-stepped its jurisdictionby deciding to convey maritime land to a non-maritime related use.Senior Judge Barry Feudale has scheduled a hearing on the matterfor Oct. 3 in the court in Harrisburg.

The swap agreement, William McLaughlin of PRPA tellsGlobeSt.com, resulted because Sysco's current site, which is aboutsix blocks northwest of Pier 98 Annex, is inadequate. It needs morespace. We'd have that site for development.” While the currentSysco site is smaller than the Pier 98 Annex parcel, McLaughlinsays, “in recent assessments, it has been deemed morevaluable.”