As Philadelphia matures and the hotel market tightens up, I think there could be room for some clever lower-end hotels in neighborhoods like Fishtown. The hotel market used to be so bad in Philadelphia that you could almost always hotwire a 3- or 4-star in CC for $50/night five years ago. That's just not the case anymore.

A 'hipster' hostel/hotel with $50/night rooms and a cool cafe close to public transport would probably do quite well. Development has to be clever in all segments for a city to grow. There have to be interesting options at both ends of the spectrum--whether it means cool coffee shops along with great five-star restaurants or compelling hostel-style hotels to compliment chic boutique facilities desperately needed in Rittenhouse.

Some of my favorite urban neighborhoods internationally have such hotel facilities that bring a diverse crowd of savvy travelers who support cafes and corner bars.

I don't know anything about the proposal, and these guys probably aren't proposing anything too innovative. So I'm not saying it's a great idea. I just would say that residents shouldn't immediately dismiss the concept.