For San Francisco-based Kimpton, this is the company's second investment in the city. It opened the 230-room, four-star Palomar at 17th and Sansom Streets in October 2009.
Nutter said he has stayed at the Monaco in Washington and was excited to bring the luxury brand here. Giving a nod to the Phillies' fifth straight year of advancing to the postseason, the mayor said that by this time next year, fans will be able stay at the Monaco to catch a weekend series with the Phils.
"This will be a spectacular property," he said.
Designed with the sophisticated world traveler in mind, the Monaco, in Old City, will feature brightly colored, whimsical, high-energy spaces filled with pieces that a traveler might have collected along the way.
For the last four years, the vacant Lafayette has been a drag in that highly visible area.
When it opens next summer, the Monaco will be the first new hotel in the Society Hill/Old City area in a decade. The 350-room Hyatt Regency opened in 2000 at Penn's Landing, and the 147-room Omni Hotel opened in 1990 at Independence Park.
"This will bring some new life to the area's hotel supply and, frankly, upgrade the overall quality level of the hotel product in this part of the city," said hospitality expert Peter Tyson, vice president of PKF Consulting USA. "It should draw more upscale tourist and commercial demand to the area and offer an upscale lodging alternative for the more discriminating visitors already staying in the area."
The Monaco will add to a Center City hotel inventory of about 10,700 rooms. It joins the 136-unit Homewood Suites in University City as the only two new hotels scheduled to open next year.
Contact staff writer Suzette Parmley at 215-854-2594 or sparmley@phillynews.com.
