Hilton HAD a hotel on campus with a ped bridge to CHOP and a parking lot that is now offices. Is there any chance that the demand for extended stay rooms has been miscalculated and some of the rooms will "need" to be converted to short-stay rooms and/or offices to avert a financial hardship? If such a change is a possibility, will these added guests, office workers and clients also be provided with free valet parking to a nearby Penn lot, or will they be circling the neighborhood looking for a parking spot, dialing their cell phone to say they're late for their appointment and parking in some resident's driveway? Or will they be directed to make a left onto Baltimore into the Vet School grid-lock. Can we get a commitment that this hotel will always have a required minimum stay and that is the only use it will ever have during the zoning process? 1) As a former regular at the Hilton, I recollect several problematic issues and driving motivations for change.
The hotel was not generating the kind or revenue from rooms and banquetes as hoped, and upkeep was an issue. With back office space requirments increasing for the adjacent medical centers a decision was made to convert the complex to office space. One really big problem was the load bearing ability of hotel flkoors is dramatically less than that required for offices, their files equipment, etc. 2) As a former resident of a building adjacent to the NW corner of 40th and Pine, I will not regalle you with stories of invasions and fights involving my paid for?off-street-parking other than to say it was intense and never ending. Regardless of how sophisticated and free -----Original Message----- From: Lewis Mellman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 8:34 am Subject: [UC] 11-Story Hilton Hotel "...Also, I don't think Lussenhop said anything about a Hilton affiliation of his project. I think this is something Glenn just made up all by himself.? ? -- Tony West"? ? Tony,? ? Unlike Glen, YOU weren't at the Historical Commission Architecture Committee review meeting where it was stated that Penn "needs" Hilton to make this work, and that any such flagship will insist on this many rooms, even though one of the architects on the ArchComm stated that he is currently working on an extended stay hotel at the airport with far fewer rooms for another brand. (Although I can't remember the name since it doesn't have a famous daughter.) So, like the rest of us, you don't have all the facts either.? ? Hilton HAD a hotel on campus with a ped bridge to CHOP and a parking lot that is now offices. Is there any chance that the demand for extended stay rooms has been miscalculated and some of the rooms will "need" to be converted to short-stay rooms and/or offices to avert a financial hardship? If such a change is a possibility, will these added guests, office workers and clients also be provided with free valet parking to a nearby Penn lot, or will they be circling the neighborhood looking for a parking spot, dialing their cell phone to say they're late for their appointment and parking in some resident's driveway? Or will they be directed to make a left onto Baltimore into the Vet School grid-lock. Can we get a commitment that this hotel will always have a required minimum stay and that is the only use it will ever have during the zoning process? My magic eightball is a little fuzzy, but I think it says, "Unlikely."? ? What concerns me about this project is that it may set a precedent that will impact what goes in on top of the community garden on the SE corner of 43rd and Baltimore. If someone really did spend $5 million to acquire the property, how many units will they "need" to cram in there to "make the numbers work"? Are we going to get a study indicating that our beloved park and coffee shop park will only be in shadow for a few hours during certain months? a Starbuck, a WaWa and a CVS? Beyond plowing the garden under, does anyone know who is buying this property and what are their plans? Will it have 2 dedicated off-street parking spots for every unit? Or is Clark Park expected to provide the parking for this highrise?? ? For benefit of partial disclosure: I was born and raised in the historical monstrosity on the site of the Swain Mansion at 45th and Spruce.? -Lew? ? ----? You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the? list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see? <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.? ________________________________________________________________________ Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com
