The news segment on the sign removal.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video...oved/279296832

@summersm

With great powers come great responsibilities...

I feel as if this hotel is a really defining moment for Philly because many of the SLS hotels are in the Entertainment/Party capitals (LA, Miami, Las Vegas, NYC) of the US and its cool that SBE (company who owns SLS hotels) considers Philly to be one

What are everyone's thoughts on date of completion? I think they originally said 2016. But that seems unlikely/impossible if actual construction starts this spring

You are probably correct. Id think at least 2 years from groundbreaking to opening.

Having this hotel plus a W will be good for city's image amongst potential visitors. Increasingly we are getting brands that are only found in NYC, LA, DC, Chicago and Miami. That's pretty good company when you think about how many major cities there are in the US.

As of right now it should be slated for a late December 2014 / early January 2015 start and finishing middle of 2017.

Article on the removal of the letters from Curbed
http://philly.curbed.com/archives/20...gn-is-down.php

Makes sense on 2017. December or January is the slated start date for demolition?

No demolition is going to be starting within the next upcoming weeks. December or January will start site work.

Ah. Great! :cheers:

I absolutely enjoy looking at the renderings of this building. it really can't start soon enough. The impact will be huge on south Broad. I personally like most Dranoff properties, including the Symphony House.

Side bar: I was looking at the first post of this thread and noticed that Pennsgrant has been banned!

Does anyone know why? He seemed cool to me but I must have missed something.:shrug:

I think because he was constantly complaining about the phillies stadium not being built at Penn in random threads.

^^^ Thanks for the heads up

I think it was because everything in Philly was too short for him.:P

That too. He was convinced every proposal sucked unless it was 20 stories taller.

Unfortunately, I think this is delayed. Today, I heard from a source I consider reliable and who used to be heavily involved in local politics at a very high level that SLS (like the W) has funding issues. But it was said in passing. I'm hoping he is wrong or that his connections have dried up and he's not that looped into the issue.

It's not. Funding is fully secured. Just spoke with Dranoff properties. Expect work to start in the spring. Demo should start no later than January.

Good! I'm glad that is wrong.

What specifically did you hear about the W, which also supposedly is fully funded?

Nothing was specifically said about the W on his end. I mentioned that I was looking forward to seeing it rise and that there had been various delays and the project had sought EB-5 finding He said SLS was having funding issues. But that sounds like it was wrong.

It's not at all clear to me that the W is fully funded, though. The W sought EB-5 funding well after it had been represented as fully funded, so some things could easily have fallen through. :shrug:

Perspective shots of the SLS International site, so we can compare what is there now (12/27/2014), to what is proposed.

Looking down Broad street:

http://s6.postimg.org/ds4730skh/SLS_0201.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/4ujh5o04h/SLS_0202.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/fg3cho6g1/SLS_0203.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/fmlmyi4yp/SLS_0204.jpg

Looking at the site from across the street:

http://s6.postimg.org/smssh725d/SLS_0205.jpg

Note: Cypress street that will be removed from the grid:

http://s6.postimg.org/k737zoza9/SLS_0206.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/fb46lqoip/SLS_0209.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/titvae17l/SLS_0208.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/565iw65y9/SLS_0210.jpg

This is what Cypress street looks like now:

http://s6.postimg.org/r2s1wjj4x/SLS_0211.jpg

Cypress goes back to Watts street, which is just off of 13th street. Note 13th street in the back. The next two shots are from the corner of Watts and Cypress:

http://s6.postimg.org/v0fbly5y9/SLS_0212.jpg

http://s6.postimg.org/57fgpl7s1/SLS_0213.jpg

This shows where Cypress meets 13th street:

http://s6.postimg.org/sa5zor99d/SLS_0214.jpg

And finally, standing at 13th and Spruce, looking up to the SLS site:

http://s6.postimg.org/o2b7g07tt/SLS_0215.jpg

Hopefully this gives a perspective to people who would not normally be able to visit the site.

Personally I think that vacant lot is absolutely disgusting for that part of Broad street.

Thanks for posting those pics, Philly-Drew. That is a bad vacant lot. I'm very excited for this project. I love the SLS/SBE brand and have had good times at their hotels. It promises to give Broad Street a shot of adrenaline. Hopefully, businesses and retail will then want to be there. South Broad in the blocks after City Hall has really struggled and has too many vacant storefronts.

But we have the worst and one of the ugliest parking lots in the City up just a few block . Across from the Bellevue. I would not want to base my store in close proximity to that either. I hope that the next large-scale development on Broad is there. And wipes it out and replaces it with a high-rise with underground parking (or at worst, unobtrusive and tastefully done above-ground parking).

http://s6.postimg.org/smssh725d/SLS_0205.jpg

I certainly hope the SLS gets built, but I never really noticed the character of this little building before. It's handsome. In a Ghostbusters firehouse sort of way.

So when is demolition now supposed to start?...

I thought the most detail we had was "early 2015"....

But Construct Student had said demolition would begin by end of October and site work late December/early 2015. No demolition yet, so I think they are delayed.

jsbrook: summersm gave you the January 2015 start date back on 11/22/14. Please see his post to you #167.

I thought we had heard January 2015 or "early 2015" for both Dranoff projects. Let's see which one starts first. Or lets see if either starts before the long delayed W hotel.

TSOP forever!
 

I'm truly happy that this tower is (eventually) going up; however, it is sad to see the only facility in Philadelphia dedicated to the Philly sound of the 70's and 80's will no longer be around. Then again after the fire it was just a matter of time.

Thanks. Missed the demo part of that. Hopefully still January! We'll see soon.

More concrete timeline?
 

http://www.phillychitchat.com/2015/0...rnational.html

Well to answer the question that we have all been asking for so long, there will apparently be a "demolition party" on the 26th, with an official groundbreaking in August. Dranoff is sure testing our patience with this one. It better be worth it :tup:

Why such a long time between demo and groundbreaking?

Probably because heavy demolition and site prep won't be happening until the Spring. February isn't the most conducive to work, not to mention that two large buildings need to come down and a small street will be removed from the grid. Add the proximity of a major thoroughfare and neighboring buildings to the mix, and it's probably best that demo for this project be slow, yet safe. At least we know that this project will continue to move forward!

Woot! It's dragging, but I'm still very happy to see a set date announced publicly. Looking forward to at least the beginning of demolition.

6 months from demolition to groundbreaking? What gives...?

My guess is that, due to the large old masonry structures, demolition is going to take a few months, followed by several months of additional site prep.

Perhaps Dranoff takes a 2 month vacation every June/July to the south of France and the groundbreaking will be more of a party once there's already a massive hole in the ground.

There have been projects where the ceremonial groundbreaking comes well after demo and foundation work actually starts. Or maybe it will be like 1919 market and skip groundbreaking ceremony altogether. Same with CTIC. East Market had one but it was so early that there was no dirt, no equipment on site and no signs of any disturbance to the site at the time.

I def. think this eventually has a groundbreaking ceremony. They are going to want publicity for an SLS hotel. Its a pretty big project on Broad and will be coming at a time where the city needs more Hotel space.

I agree that it takes place well after demo. Late Summer, early fall?

Demolition party is pushed. To "late winter."

http://www.phillychitchat.com/2015/0...rnational.html

Not surprised. I had a feeling this would be pushed. Groundbreaking stated to still be August 2015. I hope it sticks and we've seen the last delay.

It looks like there is a construction trailer on site and construction permits were posted.

Good. Will have to check L&I site soon to see if anything new has been issued.

FWIW, this project is listed on SLS's home page: http://slshotels.com/ But on the other hand, it still shows this tower as opening in 2016, which is of course impossible if ground breaking is scheduled for August. Interestingly enough, I did some digging. The Seattle SLS, which is also slated to open in 2016, appears to be full steam ahead. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...=146330&page=7 It's a very beautiful tower!

If I can start a little discussion here for shits and giggles, if you had to choose ONE mixed use hotel project that ends up getting built, would it be SLS or the Element/W on Chestnut?* I think I'd go with SLS. Both have really nice designs and are about equal in height (W is 582 vs SLS is 590). But SLS's location means a bigger impact on the skyline.

*I'm not at all implying that we only have enough demand for one of these two - I don't really know the answer to that but I am hopeful both are built.

Commenting solely on aesthetics, I like the way this one looks more than the W. The W has an interesting design with the cubed roof, I just really like the tower and podium on the SLS; very sleek and modern.

I too would prefer the SLS over the W for the reasons you mentioned above. Although I really would like to see both built, if we had to pick one, you nailed it.

Plus, out of all of the proposals we've seen lately, my favorite three are CITC, FMC and SLS. I am really hoping this gets built at least as nice as the current renderings show. After these three, then I would put the W and the Mormon tower.

Fun times in Philadelphia people, fun times.:cheers:

i dont see any new permits listed on l&I site, just the same zoning and demo permits that were issued months ago. Maybe they are posted because demo is going to start soon.

On the fence between SLS and W. SLS will make a bigger impact on the skyline, but I think the W is a more meaningful location to change the fabric of the surrounding area in that spot. Only by a little bit, though. I want SLS and the W. And that Hudson hotel not at 17th and Chandler but at 15th and Samson across from Rumor. I am greedy.

What I love about SLS, other than it's sleek facade, is that it moves the skyline south a bit. Stretch it outttt.

Definitely not a zoning notice. Couldnt be a demo notice because they're Orange. I guess it's just permits posted for the demo work. Wasn't able to read it since I was going by quickly and was on the other side of the street but something is posted.

Regular permits are on white paper. If its orange is could be a notice of demolition or zoning notice- if its new than obviously its not pertaining to zoning so its a sign the buidling is about to come down.