PHILADELPHIA A half-acre site in downtown Philadelphia that two years ago was slated to be home to a Waldorf Astoria property sold at auction this week for US$12 million.
Now a parking lot, the site was to host a US$420 million mixed-use development anchored by Hilton Worldwide’s top luxury hotel brand.
The winning bidder is Brook Lenfest, who was a partner on the Waldorf Astoria project, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The future of the site is unknown, but the hotel project—which was to include 136 condos, along with retail—was scrapped last year.
At least nine major Philadelphia hotel projects have been postponed or canceled since the 2008 financial meltdown. The city is opening an expanded convention center in March, and tourism officials are concerned that Philadelphia’s existing hotel inventory is insufficient to handle the expected demand.