Pod Philly, city’s first micro-hotel, coming to Center City

Pod Philly—a small hotel with over 200 bedroom-sized rooms—is coming to Center City, and developers say it will give visitors a play to stay for cheap.

Developer Modus Hotels, a DC-based hotel group, broke ground on the hotel at 19th and Ludlow streets this week, kicking off a construction project that will likely wrap up next year and will be ready to open in September, 2019.

The project will be the first of its kind in the city, which doesn’t have a micro-hotel, says Olivia Moore, a spokesperson speaking on behalf of Modus Hotels.

The micro-hotel will have 252 queen and bunk bed rooms, which will sit at around 170 square feet each. The building itself will be 100,000 square feet and 11 stories tall. Moore couldn’t speak to the cost of the rooms Friday, but other pod hotels in DC and New York cost about $100 to $150 per night.

Developers say they’re eager to have Pod Philly be a “trendsetter,” and that they’ve planned for rooms to have several popular features like barn doors, rain shower heads, built-in storage and “high tech” amenities. They didn’t immediately elaborate on what those amenities will be but said they’ll provide travelers with, “everything they need to stay plugged in and engaged,” according to a statement from Modus.

The building itself will also feature a number of attractions, like a restaurant and coffee shop, communal work space, and a rooftop with a greenhouse-style bar.