[Boku]

Plans for 15-story Walnut Street hotel met with overwhelming opposition

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...nst-hotel.html

The National Park Service and the Society Hill Civic Association have come out against a proposed plan to develop a 15-story hotel at 232-36 Walnut St. in Philadelphia.

This compounds an already uphill battle for the project that involves tearing down an existing 5,400-square-foot residence called Thomas Paine Place and replacing it with the new 117-room hotel tower.

At a meeting last month, Philadelphia’s Architectural Committee, which advises the Philadelphia Historical Commission, reviewed the project and recommended that the commission deny the project. As part of its recommendation, the architectural committee said the project’s “massing, scale, proportions, height, and design elements are not compatible with the historic district."

[...]

The Historical Commission was scheduled to review the hotel project at its Aug. 14 meeting but it has been tabled until September. It was postponed at the owner's request, said Rich Villa of Ambit Architecture, which is working with Cerrone.

"There are redesigns happening now," Villa said, declining to elaborate on what would change. "It's too early."

When the Historical Commission does take up the matter, its vote on the project will be binding.