That action peeved the consulting parties, who were frustrated that the Corps had taken this step, and others, without an in-person meeting. The Corps previously announced its satisfaction with the dig last August. “It's a farce,” consulting party Torben Jenk, a preservationist and amateur historian, said of the process.
While SugarHouse is pleased, some of the consulting parties – a group of local historians, neighborhood activists and archaeologists who advise the historic review process – are not. “We're certainly hopeful, but we'll take our directions from the Army Corps,” said SugarHouse spokeswoman Leigh Whitaker. But if the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation concur with the Corps' assessment, it will mean SugarHouse has satisfied the federal requirement for a historical review of its Delaware Avenue. The Corps also looks at environmental and other issues, and some are still outstanding. This doesn't mean the Corps is close to deciding whether or not to give SugarHouse the permit it needs to build its casino project as planned. Army Corps of Engineers says it's satisfied – again - with the archaeology done at the SugarHouse site and no further digging needs to happen before a permit is issued. UPDATE 12/20/11: The current site plan is below, from PlanPhilly ().
