The Divine Lorraine Hotel


On October 5, 2006, Cope Linder Architects hosted a meeting attended by the developers and owners of the Divine Lorraine (Lorraine Land LP), the West Poplar Neighborhood Advisory Committee, and Councilman Clarke regarding the proposals for the Divine Lorraine and the surrounding land. The development team, Lorraine Land LP, would like to renovate the Divine Lorraine, and build 450 new one bedroom and efficiency units. In all, there would be 620 units. Half would be condominiums and the other half would be rentals. The estimated price per unit is $150,000 to buy or $800 per month to rent. The first floor of the Divine Lorraine would be rented out to a restaurant/ bar/ lounge facing Broad Street. Facing 13th Street, on the first floor of the new construction, 55,000 sq. ft. have been allotted for a grocery store. Other retail possibilities facing Ridge Avenue include a coffee shop and a Gym/ Fitness center. The second and third floors of the new construction would be parking lots for the residents and for shoppers.

The West Poplar Neighborhood Advisory Committee seeks to establish a Divine Lorraine Working Committee. This committee will be made up of neighborhood residents, and will serve as a liaison between the developers and the neighborhood. As this project progresses, there will be opportunities for the community to express its concerns and contribute ideas. If you are interested in serving on the committee, send a letter to the NAC office as soon as possible. You may also contact the NAC office to nominate someone you know to be on the committee. Your application letter should include the following:
your name and contact information,
your address and how long you have lived there,
your occupations,
whether you rent or own your home or apartment,
your age and race or ethnicity,
your schedule,
and a brief statement on why you want to be on this committee and what you think you will contribute to it.

We are looking for people that are able to commit at least 5 hours per month to meeting with other members, drafting letters, taking minutes and distributing flyers and information. The NAC will strive to compose a committee that reflects the demographic makeup of the neighborhoods that lie east and west of the Divine Lorraine.

You can email your letters or send them:
The West Poplar Neighborhood Advisory Committee
1204 Melon Street, Floor One
Philadelphia, PA 19123
TWPNAC@gmail.com

Great information......

Here's where it starts.....if you really want to make a difference in your community, this is an excellant opportunity to work directly with the developers and the community residents....play a part inhelping to shape the community......


Wondeful....

__________________


Obama for President
Biden for VP

I'm glad to hear that there seems to be cooperation between the developer & the immediate neighborhoods. Renovation and development of that parcel could be a huge positive if it's done right.

You are exactly right....always a great thing to have the community involved.

__________________


Obama for President
Biden for VP

Any updates on the project?

That's awesome, I hope this works out. The Divine Lorraine is a beautiful building and a restoration would be great to see.

Lots of folks have been curious. I don't know if they're waiting for financing or maybe permit sign-off from L & I? I hope it's the latter because with Wall Street getting jittery over the credit crunch lenders might be reluctant to support developments like this on the periphery.

I can tell you that some of the flooring taken out of the building will be installed in a new Habitat for Humanity single family house on a double lot on the 2200 block of Titan St. in South Philly.

They were waiting for city council to pass the ordinances they needed to make the project work. They needed ordinances to strike Melon and Park Streets from the city plan. They got passed over a month ago.

Another thing they will need is permission from the historical society to demolish that brick structure behind the hotel. I do not know what is happening with that exactly, but I doubt they have that permission yet. I work for the neighborhood association in that neighborhood, and I think they will want us to help them appeal to the historical society for that permission. We haven't heard anything about that lateley, although a while ago they said they would probably need us for that.

If they did get permission from the historical society, then right now they are probably doing things like: getting all of their permits and sending out RFPs to contractors.

__________________
www.westpoplarnac.org

Thanks so much for the update!