A plan to construct a $125 million hotel in Center City
is on hold after Councilman Kenyatta Johnson pulled back a bill to rezone the
property during a City Council committee hearing Tuesday, Plan Philly reported.
In late October, Morgans Hotel Group Co. of New York
proposed to build a 300-room hotel at 17th and Chancellor streets (between
Walnut and Locust Streets) where a parking garage now stands. Little Pete's
diner, a floral shop and nail salon are within the garage space. The plan calls
for tearing down the garage and replacing it with two stories of retail.
But that would require rezoning and that's where Johnson
comes in, as the project is within the confines of his district. Plan Philly
said the bill, which lifts a number of zoning restrictions on the property, was
introduced at the end of October. Here's more:
It was scheduled
to be heard by Council's Committee on Rules on Tuesday, but halfway through the
hearing Committee Chairman Bill Greenlee announced that the bill was being held
at the request of its sponsor.
Immediately, a dozen or so hospitality workers with Unite
Here Local 274 began to filter out of Council chambers. Johnson said after the
hearing that he was holding the bill so that the developers and hospitality
workers could continue negotiations. He also said that some people were
concerned about the fate of Little Pete's.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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