It's been awhile since we last checked in on progress at the historic Divine Lorraine hotel, so it comes with great excitement to say that the residential units could be ready by the end of this year. The retail and restaurant space is expected to follow after.
Members of the Urban Land Institute were given a tour of the hotel yesterday as part of the Urban Land Institute Spring Meeting by developer Eric Blumenfeld, who took on the restoration project in 2014 after the historic property suffered years of neglect and stood as a visual sign of decay on North Broad Street.
"This project is different from anything we've done so far," said Blumenfeld, who is behind a number of North Broad Street redevelopment projects, including the Mural Arts Loft and 640 and 600 North Broad.
As we reported before, Blumenfeld said that the Divine Lorraine will include two restaurants, one on the first floor with the grand lobby and reception area, and the second in the annex building that connects to the hotel via an underground passage. One restaurant will be similar to the Spotted Pig in New York City's West Village, Blumenfeld said. There will also be a speakeasy in the basement.
Blumenfeld said that the restoration of the 10-story building began on the ninth floor, followed by the 10th floor. They're both nearly finished, though windows still need to be installed. In total, there will be 126 apartments and 120,000 square feet of retail.
If all goes to plan, the entirety of the historic building will be complete in March 2017.
- Divine Lorraine's daytime rendering [Curbed Philly]
- Eric Blumenfeld dishes on new details on the Divine Lorraine [Curbed Philly]
- Philly's most famous hotel vacancy, the Divine Lorraine [Curbed Philly]
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