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Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Philadelphia

Proposed skyscrapers in the United StatesSkyscrapers in Philadelphia

Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Philadelphia was a proposed skyscraper in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was to be built in the former One Meridian Plaza lot, half of which is now occupied by The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton. The project comprised a 670 feet (200 m)/58-floor tower located at 1441 Chestnut Street and was to be completed by Waldorf Astoria Philadelphia by the year 2012. This hotel would have been a property of the developing Waldorf-Astoria Collection, a luxury chain of hotels and resorts, owned by Hilton Hotels Corporation but the project was canceled and the lot was sold in 2010.In its place, a new Starwood W Hotel and Element by Westin hotel has secured approval, and construction is planned to start fall 2013.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Philadelphia (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Philadelphia
Chestnut Street, Philadelphia Center City

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N 39.951213 ° E -75.165051 °
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W Hotel & Element by Westin Philadelphia

Chestnut Street 1441
19104 Philadelphia, Center City
Pennsylvania, United States
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The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton (Philadelphia)
The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton (Philadelphia)

The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton is a luxury residential skyscraper in Center City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At 518 feet (158 m), the 48-story skyscraper is the twelfth-tallest building in Philadelphia, and the tallest residential tower in the city. The building was erected on the former site of One Meridian Plaza which was seriously damaged by a deadly fire in 1991. One Meridian Plaza was demolished in 1999 and the property was sold by E/R Partners to the Arden Group the next year. Development of the site by the Arden Group, which owns the adjacent Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, was delayed for years as a result of a feud with rival developer Mariner Commercial Properties. Mariner owned the property 1441 Chestnut Street, which sits south of the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton site and intends to build its own residential tower. The feud began after Arden Group's lead partner Craig Spencer blocked approval of 1441 Chestnut Street because he felt the tower's design would be detrimental to the planned Residences at The Ritz-Carlton tower. This led to several years of dispute between the developers trying to block construction of each other's towers. After several redesigns, the feud was declared over, and construction on the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton began on May 2, 2006. The blue glass skyscraper opened to residents in January 2009. The Residences at The Ritz-Carlton features 270 condominiums and penthouses, which range in price from US$550,000 to US$14 million. The high-rise also features an underground parking garage, a fitness center, a pool, and a private garden and public plaza called Girard Park.

One Meridian Plaza

One Meridian Plaza, formerly known as the Fidelity Mutual Life Building, Three Girard Plaza and Three Mellon Bank Center, was a 38-story high-rise office building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The 492-foot (150-meter) tower was designed by Vincent Kling & Associates and completed in 1972. On February 23, 1991, a twelve-alarm fire began on the 22nd floor and raged out of control for nineteen hours. Philadelphia firefighters fought the blaze but struggled due to a lack of power in the skyscraper and insufficient water pressure from the building's standpipes. Three firefighters died in the fire after becoming disoriented by heavy smoke. Firefighting efforts inside the building were eventually abandoned, due to fears the structure would collapse. The fire was only brought under control once it reached the 30th floor, which was one of the few floors that had automatic sprinklers installed. Ten sprinklers held back the fire until it started burning itself out and was finally brought under control. The blaze seriously damaged One Meridian Plaza, destroying eight floors and damaging neighboring buildings in the Center City district. An investigation of the fire, led by the Office of the Fire Marshal of the City of Philadelphia with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) national investigative response team, determined the blaze started after linseed oil–soaked rags ignited. For eight years after the fire, One Meridian Plaza sat vacant and damaged. The building was caught in litigation between its owners and the insurance company over how much the insurers would pay the owners and how repairs or demolition would proceed. Businesses near the empty high-rise closed or moved, and the city brought the owners to court to resolve the building's fate. After lawsuits were settled, the building was declared a total loss and was demolished in 1999. The lot was later used for the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, which was completed ten years later.