Awhile back I looked for the website for Urban Residential – the development firm that is building the W Philadelphia Hotel & Residences. At the time the company did not have a working website but today on a whim I decided to check for it again. Lo and behold they have a website – plus – two renderings of the W Philadelphia Hotel & Residences!

It’s difficult to tell from these renderings, but it seems as though the building will have at least three distinct finishes – which is a very nice touch. I’m very curious to know what the dark material is though – is it brick? Dark metal? Dark concrete?

According to Starwood Hotel’s ‘New Hotel‘ page, the W Philadelphia Hotel & Residences is scheduled to open in December 2009, but as of November ‘07 (the last time I drove by the site) it was still operating as a parking lot. It’s located right next to the Convention Center on Arch Street, and a few blocks away from the future LeMeridien Philadelphia, but it’s still somewhat hidden – away from the hustle and bustle of the Philly nightlife (Old City) or what I call Philadelphia’s Main Street (Market Street), but after seeing these renderings, which show a big “W” at the top of the building surrounded by lights, it will stick out in the skyline – now the historic PSFS letters on the Loews Philadelphia Hotel won’t be the only letters that can be seen from miles around. The fashionable ‘W’ will join them.

The W Philadelphia Hotel & Residences will be located in the parking lot in the center of the image. The building with the radio tower on the bottom left is the PSFS building, which is currently the Loews Philadelphia, the large building to the top of the parking lot is the Philadelphia Convention Center

The page for the project on Urban Residential’s site directs viewers to www.wphiladelphiaresidences.com, but currently if you visit it, it just re-directs to W Hotel’s primary website (currently the same as the W Boston and W Scottsdale). The project page does give two unique things to look for when the hotel opens – for residents, there is a private wine cellar, as well as an outdoor gourmet kitchen (what exactly that is I don’t know, can residents cook there? Or is it a restaurant?), and for guests, the first Stephen Starr restaurant in Philadelphia, as well as Philadelphia’s first Bliss Spa. No word yet on any outdoor bars or pools, and it is a little difficult to determine that from the renderings, but hopefully they will launch a complete website soon filling us in on all the important details.

In the meantime, you can view Urban Residential’s project page by visiting www.urbanresidential.com and then clicking “Philadelphia” and then “W Hotel & Residences”, it’s a flash-based website, so the page has no direct link.

I’m glad to see the W Philadelphia is still progressing, I was worried that it might be canceled since the project was announced back in Mid-2006 and a year and a half later, it doesn’t seem as though any work had started yet. After Will Smith’s failed attempt at a W Philadelphia, I didn’t want to see this W end up the same way.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

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