W Hotel

[acenturi]

and if there's demand, there will be turnover (though I'm not betting on cvs, five guys, or wndy's moving any time soon). that's the way it works. it's not exactly the worst area, there's la colombe and the ritz cartlon next door, city hall's new plaza will be finished by then as well. the biggest "eyesore" is this lot, which will also be gone.

Hope so. My point is that you can plunk down a new "W", or other luxury brand, across from a Walmart in Manhattan and it would work because it's Manhattan and people WANT to be there. In Philly, or a bit less so in Boston for example, there is a need to work harder to attract people to stay and come back to an area - Google Street View on the W Boston site. I mean we all know that all you have to do is walk a block to vibrancy, but the naysayers will always point to the fronting street as "typical" Philly. It's amazing what a 3x increase in rent will do to motivate businesses to move - especially if they are incentivized with a new location. Don't know the particulars of their leases, but leases can always be bought out with appropriate $ - so never say never.

[eldondre]

Its a much better location than meridian. I wouldn't worry too much...they stuck the convention ctr in the red light district...this is much less risky.

[aro1419]

Its a much better location than meridian. I wouldn't worry too much...they stuck the convention ctr in the red light district...this is much less risky.

How could this location be bad? It's in the center of city and has easy access to everything that you could possibly want to see in the city. If the Ritz can do well there, I'm confident that a W can, too.

[BarryG]

Hope so. My point is that you can plunk down a new "W", or other luxury brand, across from a Walmart in Manhattan and it would work because it's Manhattan and people WANT to be there. In Philly, or a bit less so in Boston for example, there is a need to work harder to attract people to stay and come back to an area - Google Street View on the W Boston site. I mean we all know that all you have to do is walk a block to vibrancy, but the naysayers will always point to the fronting street as "typical" Philly. It's amazing what a 3x increase in rent will do to motivate businesses to move - especially if they are incentivized with a new location. Don't know the particulars of their leases, but leases can always be bought out with appropriate $ - so never say never.

What is sadly "typical Philly" is this insane mindset that 15th & Chestnut is not an attractive location. In reality is a better location for high-end recreational visitors than the majority of hotels in Center City.

[2happy4u]

I've been to 2 W hotels (San Diego and D.C.) and both managed to capture the personality of the city while maintaining W's high end hard rock styling. I would be very interested in seeing how they handled Philly's character.

Hand guns , body out lines and trash

[OffenseTaken]

Post No. 4 (from April 20):

I think the lobby of W philly would have to have somebody puking his/her guts out, another person (female) talking loudly in that great Philly accent, another person littering randomly, several drug dealers loitering and those last tribe of israel guys with a loudspeaker, to really capture the philly feel.

Post No. 65 (from September 17):

Hand guns , body out lines and trash

[carloss]

[MarketStEl]

Naked Philly has an article on it with some updated info:

Update: W Hotel Creeping Forward at 15th and Chestnut | NakedPhilly

New information (at least that I haven't seen before):

-582 feet tall, 52 stories, all parking below ground (compare to the Residences at the Ritz at 518 feet tall). This will be the 7th tallest building in Philadelphia

-All-hotel, no condos

-755 guest rooms and meeting rooms (so assume ~740 guest rooms)

-Part of the building will be an element hotel, which is Starwood's upscale extended stay brand (equal if not a notch above a Homewood Suites or Residence Inn). Looking at room counts at other elements, I'd guess the W will have 550-600 rooms and the element 140-190 rooms.

Sounds like a fantastic project for Philly, and will likely be the catalyst to transform the 1400 and 1500 blocks of Chestnut!

Okay, looks like they got one item we missed, namely, that this structure will combine two Starwood brands. Aside from that:

Lou Mancinelli, Greg Meckstroth. Mr. Meckstroth, Mr. Mancinelli.

[Kukla65th]

The area is great, the only neg being the Wendys that attracts teenagers. Del Friscos is across the street, new upscale chain is going into the old Roy's, Walnut St shopping around the corner, come on.

When Wendy's lease is up next time, they can expect a substantial rent increase, or at least at some point as the addition of this hotel is realized...could be curtains for Wendy's and several other tenants in that building. We may even see some of the ground floor reconfigured for larger tenant spaces if the demand arises for better retail there. Who knows.

[carloss]

When Wendy's lease is up next time, they can expect a substantial rent increase, or at least at some point as the addition of this hotel is realized...could be curtains for Wendy's and several other tenants in that building. We may even see some of the ground floor reconfigured for larger tenant spaces if the demand arises for better retail there. Who knows.

But what about the displacement? What about the people who patronize "All-American establishments" that will get pushed out -- people who otherwise can't afford to shop in Center City, but who are escaping the ghetto of Market East?

Nahhh. If there are any actual NIMBYs around this block, they'll be whining ad nauseam about height, density, and shadows.

[mixiboi]

All the hate for Wendys is kinda sad....On the list of Fast Food places that are horrible, its not in the top 3.....

[OffenseTaken]

All the hate for Wendys is kinda sad....On the list of Fast Food places that are horrible, its not in the top 3.....

I don't think it's about the Frosties and slow-cooked chili.

[Volanova]

All the hate for Wendys is kinda sad....On the list of Fast Food places that are horrible, its not in the top 3.....

I'm torn about this. On one hand, it would be nice to have something a little classier on this corner. On the other hand, you can't be populated entirely by places where a burger and a soda will run you $15. Having a few cheap, easy fast food joints like this scattered around that are open late at night aren't really a bad thing. Seeing a facelift on the place would not be that bad, though.

[Jayfar]

Dual-brand hotel project planned at Meridian site on Chestnut | Philadelphia Inquirer

SUZETTE PARMLEY, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

POSTED: Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 3:01 AM

A hotel project planned for 1441 Chestnut St. will house two distinct brands - a four-star luxury W Hotel and a three-star, extended-stay Element by Westin hotel, according to those involved in developing the former One Meridian Plaza location.
Both brands are owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. Although the dual-brand approach has not been formally announced - insiders say Starwood wants to secure all financing first - the information appeared this week on a website of Vine Street Ventures Inc. of Dallas, development partner of local businessman Brook J. Lenfest, who owns the site.

[snip]

Mixed-Use Development Project

[kidphilly]

Dual-brand hotel project planned at Meridian site on Chestnut | Philadelphia Inquirer



Mixed-Use Development Project

Nice to see some info on this and will include ground floor retail. This could really help the area

Based on the second link this will become the 5th tallest in Philly - So at 50 stories and somewhere between 740 and 791 feet not too shabby


And while not to sound at all negative. I believe this will be the closest tall to city hall, wonder how it will frame in/out the space

[Burholme06]

Based on the second link this will become the 5th tallest in Philly - So at 50 stories and somewhere between 740 and 791 feet not too shabby

I wonder if they are guessing it to be the 5th tallest? The Residences at the Ritz next door is 48 floors and not much higher than 500’ so how can this one rise to over 740ft without obscense floor heights for a hotel?

[thoth]

I wonder if they are guessing it to be the 5th tallest? The Residences at the Ritz next door is 48 floors and not much higher than 500’ so how can this one rise to over 740ft without obscense floor heights for a hotel?

Maybe upper floors are extended stay with separate elevator(s)?

[DCnPhilly]

Just throwing this out there, this isn't the former One Meridian Plaza location. Unless she's referring to the Ritz Residences.

A hotel project planned for 1441 Chestnut St. will house two distinct brands - a four-star luxury W Hotel and a three-star, extended-stay Element by Westin hotel, according to those involved in developing the former One Meridian Plaza location.

[mixiboi]

Yeah, what Thoth said. If it is a dual brand there isn't much space but up to build two hotels there. So one brand will have its own separate elevators and space some where up there...

Tho, I would believe the W part would get the better views of the city then the elements part.

[kidphilly]

I wonder if they are guessing it to be the 5th tallest? The Residences at the Ritz next door is 48 floors and not much higher than 500’ so how can this one rise to over 740ft without obscense floor heights for a hotel?

Well this will be LEED certified which I believe has floor heights of ~12 ft and assuming some of the main floors would be higher it could be significantly higher than the Ritz.

It was a reference in the link with no mention of actual height but if it is true the plan would make the 5th tallest it would have to exceed the 739 ft height

The 6th tallest is 625 ft in case they mis quoted, which may make sense

Either way even at an average of 12 ft and 50 floors it would be 600ft, likely more with some floors higher.

Will be really curious to see some renders, especially the design and floor interactions of the retail