[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by TallCoolOne

California-based SBE Entertainment Group plans a 152-guest-room SLS hotel on South Broad Street in a project that will also include 90 condo units.

Crews have finished preparing the site for construction and plan to begin building in early 2016, said Marianne Harris, marketing director for Dranoff Properties, the developer.


Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...vCpgS642Vhi.99

This portion of that article might explain why the start of construction has been pushed back to early 2016:

The projects are moving forward amid reports that SBE chief executive officer Sam Nazarian was in talks to merge with the Hudson Hotel's New York-based corporate parent, Morgans Hotel Group. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Nazarian would become CEO of the combined company if the merger took place.

Shareholder Rambleside Holdings said it objected to such a merger and offered to buy the New York Hudson and a Florida hotel from Morgans for $507 million, while saying it might make a bid for the entire company.

Even if a merger occurred, the luxury-class, California-bred SLS and the more affordable, East Coast-inflected Hudson are different enough to share the market under the same corporate umbrella, said Andrew Benioff, a hotel specialist at Philadelphia's Llenrock Group real estate finance and advisory firm.

SBE spokeswoman Robin Paul would not comment on the impact in Philadelphia of a possible merger. Morgans spokesman Nathaniel Garnick did not respond to a phone message seeking comment.

"What an SLS is and what a Hudson is, they're very distinct," Benioff said.