PHILADELPHIA | AC Hotel by Marriott | 181 FT | 15 FLOORS

summersm343 · #1 Posted **Jul 21, 2015, 12:57 AM**

Title: AC Hotel by Marriott
Project: Hotel
Architect: SPG3
Developer: Baywood Hotels
Location: 13th and Florist St. Philadelphia, PA
Neighborhood: Chinatown
District: Center City
Floors: 15 floors
Height: 181 FT

Quote:

The plans to develop the former Warner Bros. distribution building/NFL Films location at 13th and Florist St. in Chinatown unanimously flew through zoning a few weeks ago, reports Philly Living. Developer Baywood Hotels plans to add a 12-story hotel to the top of the understated Art Deco building. But we knew that already. What we didn't know precisely what brand of hotel we'd be getting — until now. Baywood plans to install an AC Hotel by Marriot, a popular mid-priced European hotel brand that finally made its way across the pond in 2013.

http://philly.curbed.com/archives/20...s-building.php

philatonian · #2 Posted **Jul 21, 2015, 2:40 AM**

Whoa! Marriott took this over?! Nice!

DIESELPOLO · #3 Posted **Jul 21, 2015, 5:38 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersm343

Title: AC Hotel by Marriot
Project: Hotel
Architect: SPG3
Developer: Baywood Hotels
Location: 13th and Florist St. Philadelphia, PA
Neighborhood: Loft District
District: Center City
Floors: 14 floors
Height: ??

http://philly.curbed.com/archives/20...s-building.php

Are they not even going to try and chamfer the corners of the highrise portion as well?

TechTalkGuy · #4 Posted **Jul 21, 2015, 2:45 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by philatonian

Whoa! Marriott took this over?! Nice!

I was thinking the same thing!

Let's hope for public space on the roof with trees like you see on Trump Tower on 5th Ave.

I can think of so many ways the roof can be utilized, it's not funny!

apetrella802 · #5 Posted **Jul 21, 2015, 10:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by summersm343

Title: AC Hotel by Marriot
Project: Hotel
Architect: SPG3
Developer: Baywood Hotels
Location: 13th and Florist St. Philadelphia, PA
Neighborhood: Loft District
District: Center City
Floors: 14 floors
Height: ??

http://philly.curbed.com/archives/20...s-building.php

http://architecturestyles.org/art-deco/

thisisforreal · #6 Posted **Jul 27, 2015, 6:14 PM**

Here is an elevated picture of the site from last September:

McBane · #7 Posted **Jul 27, 2015, 7:34 PM**

Slapping a tower on this building without any sort of integration is plain lazy architecture. I like the hotel, the height, and the energy that this will bring to an otherwise dilapidated and vacant building. And I get the rationale for the design: let's put this tower as inconspicuously as possible so that it doesn't alter the look of the original building from the street. But it just doesn't work. (And it doesn't work on the proposed tower on top of the Lit Bros building either.) And that's all besides the fact that the tower itself is fugly. Those beige panels? Uck!

philatonian · #8 Posted **Jul 29, 2015, 3:21 AM**

I don't think it's as bad as most think. It looks tall because it's slender, but it's still shorter than the Hampton Inn next door, and I think the office building across the street.

summersm343 · #9 Posted **Jan 29, 2016, 12:33 AM**

From the architects:
http://www.spg3.com/html/projects/acmarriotthotel.html

Quote:

Opening in 2017 and developed by Baywood Hotels and architects spg3, this AC hotel will be located in the former art deco Warner Brothers building. There will be 12 guest rooms per floor.

http://philly.curbed.com/archives/20...hotels-map.php

Frontst17 · #10 Posted **Jan 29, 2016, 1:23 AM**

Ugly and won't age well in my opinion but great for the area and spot on density wise I like it overall. Can always use more hotel rooms

Human Scale · #11 Posted **Jan 29, 2016, 9:24 AM**

Oh no! That's gonna become a franchise holiday inn express within 12 years. Ew.

RonnieStevens · #12 Posted **Jan 29, 2016, 2:09 PM**

The amount of lots around that area is ridiculous. I hope these kind of projects move along high rise developments. Its really an extension of the loft district in a way. I see condos and apartments; and location is great for easy access to just about every part of the city. I think the convention center creates a barrier to the rest of the city in a way but it can become its on little neighborhood I think

Insoluble · #13 Posted **Jan 29, 2016, 2:26 PM**

It's certainly no looker. I'm reminded of the awful Home2 Sweets atrocity by the Reading Terminal. That being said, I love the added density and the fact that the existing structure is being preserved. This area is swimming in surface lots and can really use the infill. As ugly as it is, it can easily be ignored at the street level where the somewhat hansom Warner Bros. distribution building is all you'll notice.

BenKatzPhillytoParis · #14 Posted **Jan 29, 2016, 2:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonnieStevens

The amount of lots around that area is ridiculous. I hope these kind of projects move along high rise developments. Its really an extension of the loft district in a way. I see condos and apartments; and location is great for easy access to just about every part of the city. I think the convention center creates a barrier to the rest of the city in a way but it can become its on little neighborhood I think

Yeah, despite some notable exceptions, the whole area bounded by 11th, Race, the Parkway, and Vine Street, is flush with lots and is severely underdeveloped. It's particularly pronounced East of Broad, but it really does extend all the way to the Parkway. The area West of Broad in that area I would say is particularly ripe for high-rise development since in addition to already having some and not being low-rise residential, it's very close to our tallest buildings. There should really be tall high-rises on both sides of the parkway.

More long-term, if there's ever funding to even gradually cover Vine Street, that could also be a major arterial with high-rises on either side.

summersm343 · #15 Posted **Feb 18, 2016, 3:02 AM**

Looks to me like interior demo has started on the interior structure. Didn't have a chance to stop as I was driving by, but zoning notices were up, C3 (Clemons Construction Company) signs were up, and it looked like work was going on inside.

philatonian · #16 Posted **Feb 22, 2016, 12:32 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonnieStevens

The amount of lots around that area is ridiculous. I hope these kind of projects move along high rise developments. Its really an extension of the loft district in a way. I see condos and apartments; and location is great for easy access to just about every part of the city. I think the convention center creates a barrier to the rest of the city in a way but it can become its on little neighborhood I think

I've lived across from this site for about 8 years and I've watched them bulldoze building after building, and I really thought this one was going to go too. Aside from the buildings torn down for the PCC expansion, most of the buildings torn down were abandoned, one-story warehouses - no great loss - but only replaced by more surface parking. Believe me, the AC hotel, drab as it is, is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Just recently another old warehouse was torn down, but along with it a very cute apartment building. AFAIK, there are no plans for that site but more parking.

The problem with this area is the surface parking owners are lowly taxed and make bank off having almost no overhead. All they pay for is a minimum wage employee (if one is even working) and barely maintaining the asphalt. The only time something gets developed around here is when something else gets torn down, or in this case, capped.

I've seen single buildings torn down for no more than three parking spaces. They justify the demolition as a way to "clear the land" for speculative development, but if the property ever goes on the market they end up asking twice the value because the profit margin on surface parking is so high. It's messed up but it's literally cheaper in this neighborhood to demolish a building to construct something new. That just happened on Camac.

I wish we still had some of the lofty warehouses that were here before the first leg of the PCC. If we were ever part of Callowhill, that was the time. As it stands, we should be an extension of the Loft District, but the CNA wants nothing to do with us. It's hard to blame them. Fighting SL-EZ lot is a Sisyphean task.

At best we're under the PCDC but they're not the most progressive group. This corner of Center City has been the city's dumping ground for poorly envisioned civic projects for more than 30 years: The Gallery, the PCC, Market East Station. Right now the best we can hope for is hotels.

Philly-Drew · #17 Posted **Feb 23, 2016, 3:17 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIESELPOLO

Are they not even going to try and chamfer the corners of the highrise portion as well?

I just want to know how many people googled the word chamfer tonight!

summersm343 · #18 Posted **Mar 15, 2016, 1:13 AM**

3/14/16

summersm343 · #19 Posted **Sep 6, 2016, 9:16 PM**

Marriott AC

Quote:

The original plan called for the historic art deco Warner Brothers building to be turned into a 150-room hotel and open in 2017. But the most recent Center City District Developments report states that the completion date is TBD—construction hasn't started at the site yet. Baywood Hotels and architects spg3 are interested in adding a 12-story hotel on top of the two-story building with 12 rooms per floor.

http://philly.curbed.com/maps/philadelphia-hotels-map

summersm343 · #20 Posted **Jul 13, 2017, 9:22 PM**

Possibly a new developer and 15 floors now?

Read more here: http://hiddencityphila.org/2017/07/m...ange-building/