Over the summer, while attending a wedding in Connecticut, we stayed at a cute hotel in New Haven called The Study at Yale. Next to the elevator, there was an easel with a rendering of a future hotel, The Study at University City. It's like they knew we were coming!
Developers Hospitality 3 recently presented this project to Civic Design Review, clearing the way for this project to get underway on the northwest corner of 33rd & Chestnut. The building is designed by Digsau, and will stand ten stories high. It will include 212 hotel rooms, a restaurant, and meeting and banquet facilities on the second floor. The building is right on the border of Penn and Drexel, but it will apparently target Drexel families, coming to visit their kids. Currently, the James E. Marks Interculural Center building is on the site. The scale of the new building seems much more appropriate, given the location and all the institutional development taking place nearby.
Because we can't write about West Philly without mentioning student housing, we should mention all the students who will live near this new hotel. Chestnut Square, with 861 beds and a bunch of new retail, opened last year on the 3200 block of Chestnut Street. And on the south side of the 3300 block, a new Penn dorm is very much under construction. Lots of students nearby means more demand for hotel rooms from parents. We imagine this new hotel will do just fine. And perhaps the Sheraton at 38th & Chestnut might be inspired to up their game a bit to keep up with the new neighbors.