PHILADELPHIA: SMART CITY. SMART CHOICE FOR HOTEL INVESTMENT

by PIDCphila
June 10, 2012

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PIDC and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PCVB) recently released an updated report on Philadelphia:  Smart City. Smart Choice for Hotel Development.  

This report outlines the hotel and convention market dynamics and history in Philadelphia and provides an overview of the many ways in which the City of Philadelphia and PIDC are supporting continued investment in the hospitality sector related to the recently opened expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the strong growth in leisure travel to Philadelphia – recently named the #1 city for Culture by Travel and Leisure magazine!  The Barnes Foundation art collection, which opened in its new location on the Cultural Mile along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in downtown Philadelphia on May 19, will draw visitors from around the country and around the world for years to come.

Philadelphia has seen strong growth in its hotel development market in recent years, driven by boutique hotels serving convention, leisure, business, and health care-related travelers. Since the launch of the $786 million expansion of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, which was completed in March 2011, there have been 660 new hotel rooms added to Philadelphia’s downtown hotel market. An additional 515 rooms are currently under construction in Center City and University City, bringing the total to 1,175 new rooms completed or underway. 

The completed new hotel development projects are:

  • 230-room Kimpton Hotel Palomar at 17th & Sansom,
  • 202-room Le Meridien at Broad & Arch,
  • 92-room Four Points by Sheraton at 12th & Race, and
  • 136-room Homewood Suites University City at 41st and Walnut.

The new hotel projects under construction are: 

  • 270-room Kimpton Hotel Monaco at 5th & Chestnut (completion Fall 2012), and
  • 246-room Hilton Home 2 Suites at 12th & Arch (completion Summer 2013).

To support investment in the hospitality sector, the City of Philadelphia offers tax credits for job creation, ten year real estate tax abatement for new construction as well as substantial renovation of existing properties, and customized assistance through the development and permitting process.  PIDC offers a variety of financing tools to assist new and existing owners to develop or renovate hotels which will create new jobs in Philadelphia or to implement energy efficiency measures through building retrofit projects. 

You can also find this report on PIDC’s website in the Reports and Studies section at:

http://www.pidc-pa.org/reports-and-studies

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