Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Looking Ahead: A Dozen Awesome New Hotels Coming To Philadelphia In 2015 And Beyond

Comcast Building
Philly’s hotel scene is about to get really hot with the addition of new properties including a W Hotel, a SLS LUX, a new Kimpton and a new Four Seasons atop the new Comcast tower. (Image courtesy Comcast)
Philadelphia’s hotel scene just keeps getting better. After a number of key openings and renovations in recent years – and after Philadelphia saw its highest occupancy rate ever in 2014, a number of high profile hotel projects are on the books to open in Philadelphia in the next few years.
And by “high profile,” we mean high profile. The projects include one of the first SLS LUX brand hotels to open in the U.S., a new W Hotel just off the Avenue of the Arts, a new Kimpton Hotelacross from Logan Circle, a highly anticipated boutique hotel on Frankford Avenue in Fishtown, and a new Four Seasons Hotel atop the under-construction Comcast Innovation and Technology Center.
With all of these developments, there’s never been a better time to check out the awesome hotel scene and stay over in Philadelphia.
Read on for news on a dozen new hotel projects that are coming to Philadelphia in the next few years. As with all large development projects, the timetables, name and other details of the below projects are subject to change.
• Roost Rittenhouse
Fall 2015, 1900 block of Chestnut Street. Travelers seeking to rest their heads in Philadelphia for more than a brief stay will soon have another a brand new option: Roost Apartment Hotel is opening its second Philadelphia location this summer or fall to follow-up the 2014 debut of its first hotel in the historic Packard Building. Designed with visitors staying for 30 days or longer in mind, the apartment-style hotels include all the services of a boutique hotel with the amenities of a luxury apartment.MORE INFO
ROOST Apartment Hotel
Chic decor, factory-style windows, hardwood floors and modern electronics give each hotel room at Roost the feel of a luxury apartment. (Photo courtesy Roost Apartment Hotel)
• AKA University City in the FMC Tower
Spring 2016, FMC Tower at Cira Centre South, 30th and Walnut streets. The FMC Tower at Cira Centre South will rise 49 stories on the west bank of the Schuylkill River and the upper floors will hold the new luxury extended-stay AKA University City. Developed by AKA in partnership with Brandywine Liberty Trust, the second property for Korman Communities in Philadelphia will hold 268 residences, 103 for extended stays. In addition to spectacular views, guests will enjoy the building’s 21,000 square-feet of retail as well as “Cira Green,” a breathtaking new rooftop park. MORE INFO
Come 2016, AKA University City will join AKA Rittenhouse as the second Korman Communities property in Philadelphia. (Image courtesy Brandywine Reality Trust)
The AKA University City will fill the top floors of the new FMC Tower at Cira South, currently under construction at 30th and Walnut. (Rendering by BLT Architects)
• SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel & SLS International Residences
Coming in 2016/2017, Broad and Spruce streets. This is a big one. The SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel & SLW International Residences is going to be the tallest residential building in Pennsylvania when completed. Located at the heart of the Avenue of the Arts at Broad and Spruce streets, the SLS will rise 47 stories, with 152 boutique hotel rooms and 90 luxury condominiums on the higher floors. The hotel will be designed by Philippe Stark and will be one of the first SLS LUX properties to open anywhere in the country. MORE INFO
SLS International Philadelphia
The SLS LUX Philadelphia Hotel will be one of the first SLS LUX brand properties to open anywhere in the U.S. (Photo courtesy SLS)
For much more on the cool hotel projects coming to Philly, see below.
• The Study University City
Coming in 2017, 33rd and Chestnut streets. Study Hotels, a new brand from Hospitality 3, enters the University City market in 2017 with an urban-style hotel in partnership with Drexel University. The 145,000-square-foot hotel has plans to include 212 rooms, around 7,000 square feet of meeting space, a 105-seat restaurant and a fitness center. MORE INFO
The Study
Drexel’s campus will soon see the development of The Study, an urban hotel concept from Hospitality 3 management, at the corner of 33rd and Chestnut streets. (Rendering courtesy Hospitality 3)
• W and Element Hotels
Coming in 2017, 1441 Chestnut Street. Soaring above 15th and Chestnut streets, just behind the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia hotel, a new Starwood-run W Hotel and Element Hotel are planned to debut in 2017. Chestlen Development is spearheading the project, and the property will hold 295 rooms under the W Hotel brand and another 460 in the Element by Westin. Construction on the project is underwayMORE INFO
W Hotel
A two-for-one hotel will rise on Chestnut Street: Starwood brings both a W Hotel and Element Hotel by Westin to Philadelphia. (Rendering courtesy Brook Lenfest)
• AC Hotel by Marriott
Coming in 2017, 228‐238 N. 13th Street. AC Hotels, an urban-contemporary hotel brand founded in Spain by designer Antonio Catalán, has opened in cities like New Orleans, Chicago and Asheville. Now, the Marriott-operated brand has plans to launch in Philadelphia. Developed by Baywood Hotels and architects spg3, the planned property at 13th and Florist streets just north of the Convention Center will house 140 rooms in the former Warner Brothers building, a two-story, Art Deco-inspired structure that dates to 1947. MORE INFO
Warner Brothers
The historic Warner Brothers building is going to be transformed into a 140-room hotel by 2017. (Rendering courtesy spg3)
• Aloft Hotel at the Convention Center
Coming in 2017, 101 N. Broad Street. The historic 21-story Liberty Title and Trust building at Broad and Arch was preserved during the construction of the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center so it could be turned into a hotel. That conversion is scheduled to happen in the form of a 178-room Aloft Hotel by Starwood, slated to open in 2017. The new hotel will be situated right next to the Pennsylvania Convention Center, and will offer its guests direct access to the entrance lobby of the Convention Center right off the Avenue of the Arts. MORE INFO
Liberty Title Building
The Liberty Title and Trust building, located just north of City Hall, will soon be converted into an Aloft Hotel with a direct connection to the Pennsylvania Convention Center. (Image courtesy Realen Properties)
• Kimpton Hotel on Logan Circle
Coming in 2017/2018, 18th and Vine streets. Kimpton will be adding a third property to their Philadelphia holdings in 2017 or 2018 when they open a $85-million, 199-room hotel in the former Family Court building on Vine Street at Logan Circle. This new Philadelphia property will be Kimpton’s third adaptation and renovation of a historic building in Philadelphia — Hotel Palomar and Square 1682 restaurant opened in the former Architects Building in Rittenhouse Square in 2009 and Hotel Monaco Philadelphia and Red Owl Tavern opened in the Lafayette Building overlooking Independence Mall in 2012. MORE INFO
Kimpton
The historic Family Court building on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will soon transform into a gorgeous new Kimpton hotel. (Image courtesy Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants)
• Hudson Hotel
Coming in 2018, 17th and Chancellor streets. A new $125 million property — a Hudson hotel by Morgans Hotel Group, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal — will rise 12 stories and fill the small parcel of land on 17th Street between Chancellor and St. James streets, replacing the five-story, above-ground parking garage that currently sits there and houses Little Pete’s diner. According to plans from locally based DAS Architects, the new high-rise hotel will feature more than 300 rooms, 40 executive suites, high-end amenities and food and beverage options — including a proposed dining venue on the penthouse floor with panoramic city views. MORE INFO
New Hotel
There are plans for a new $125 million boutique hotel to be built on 17th Street in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. (Rendering courtesy DAS Architects, Inc.)
• Unnamed Boutique Hotel In Fishtown
Coming soon, Frankford Avenue north of Girard Avenue. Another super exciting project is on the books in Fishtown. Developer Roland Kassis is a neighborhood fixture, and soon his investment in Fishtown will reach new depths — or, actually, heights. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’sarchitecture critic Inga Saffron, Kassis has set his sights on developing a boutique hotel on Frankford Avenue in the style of Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s Wythe Hotel. The project – which would be the first hotel in Fishtown and is enthusiastically endorsed by the neighborhood – would include a restaurant, jazz club and rooftop pool as well. MORE INFO
(Image courtesy Roland Cassis)
The plans for a boutique hotel on Frankford Avenue in Fishtown include a restaurant, jazz club and a rooftop pool.
(Image courtesy Roland Cassis)
• Live! Casino and Hotel
Coming in 2018-2019, South Philly. After a hotly contested showdown for a Philadelphia casino license, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board awarded the prize to the Live! Casino and Hotel project in South Philadelphia. Approximately 220 rooms are slated for the hotel, and many details are still yet to be firmed up. Stay tuned. MORE INFO
Live! Hotel Casino
Though much development is still to come, the Live! Hotel Casino could look something like this. (Rendering by BLT Architects)
• Four Seasons Hotel at Comcast Innovation & Technology Center
Coming in 2018, 1800 Arch Street. This has to be the pièce de résistance of the hotel projects in the pipeline. To be housed within the upper floors of the 1,121-foot Comcast Innovation & Technology Center that is currently under construction on the 1800 block of Arch Street, the new 220-room Four Seasons Philadelphia Hotel is scheduled to open in 2018 when the new tower is completed. The new luxury hotel will include more than 200 rooms, a spa, fitness facilities, event and meeting space, as well as — get ready for it — a breathtaking new restaurant located on the top floor of the building, offering awesome, unparalleled 360-degree views of the city. We literally cannot wait. MORE INFO
Called the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, the new tower will rise 1,121 feet making it the tallest building in America outside of New York and Chicago. (Image via Comcast)
The new Four Seasons Hotel in the new Comcast Tower will boast a breathtaking new restaurant located on the top floor of the building, offering awesome, unparalleled 360-degree views of the city. (Image via Comcast)

Posted by Kristina Jenkins, http://www.uwishunu.com/
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