Last week, ground was reportedly broken for a hotel at the new City Center. The completed project will be a 246-unit, all suites extended-stay hotel. The hotel, among other things, will include an indoor pool, a Wii room for video games, and 9,750 square feet of retail space at street level. In total, the project will cost around $60 million.
Prior to plans for the hotel, nearly two dozen other hotel construction projects had been proposed for the new expanded Convention Center. These, however, had been delayed or cancelled due to a lending shortage following the 2008 market drop.
Parkway Corp. is reportedly responsible for contributing the lot where the new hotel is to be built. Philadelphia-based Wurzak Hotel Group will be the operator, and Holton Worldwide is providing the brand name. Capital One Bank is responsible for providing a $25 construction loan and another $10 million in New Market Tax Credits. Beyond that, state and city grants were contributed to cover cost. Sources said $12.8 million in government incentives was provided, though $4.8 million of that is to be repaid.
The new project has reportedly been viewed by many, including Mayor Nutter, as positive indication for the lending market, and hope that other projects for the Convention Center which have been shelved will be brought back on the table.
The hotel project is expected to create 123 construction jobs and 146 permanent jobs at its opening in the summer of 2013.
Construction law is a complex reality involving a variety of potential issues from contract negotiation and drafting to breach of contract disputes to delay and defect claims. Navigating these issues, not to mention planning for their avoidance, can difficult to navigate without experienced help.
Source: philly.com, “Ground broken for a new Center City hotel,” Suzette Parmley, April 17, 2012
