Developer of extended stay hotel project in Center City seeking partner for restaurant space, roofto
Genesis Capital broke ground Thursday on The Jaan at Center City, seen here in a rendering.
By Emma Dooling
A New Jersey-based real estate investment, development and management firm broke ground Thursday on a new boutique extended stay hotel near the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia and is now looking for a local partner for the project's ground floor restaurant and rooftop.
Genesis Capital plans to open the hotel, called The Jaan at Center City, in April 2024 at the site of a former parking lot at 225-239 N. 13th St.
The seven-story development will contain 81 units targeting long-term guests and business travelers. Plans for the project also include a roughly 1,800-square-foot ground floor commercial space that will be home to a restaurant and bar with both indoor and outdoor seating.
Genesis Capital CEO Gowtham Reddy said the developer is looking for a “true partner” for the restaurant space. The real estate firm will fund the buildout, and the operator will not have to pay rent or provide the capital typically needed to open a restaurant.
The two parties will share the profits, and while the design and menu will have to be in line with the development, according to Reddy, the restaurateur will get a “wide berth” in formulating the concept.
“We're not looking to micromanage all this. I mean, I firmly believe in working with the best, and if I'm working with the best, I'm not going to step on their toes,” Reddy said.
If Genesis Capital cannot find a restaurant partner, it will lease out the ground floor space.
The Jaan at Center City will also have a two-level rooftop deck for which Reddy hopes to get approval to open a rooftop bar. The bar would be located on the second level of the roof and be associated with the ground floor restaurant.
Other amenities planned for the development are a gym, a small co-working space and a private conference room that can be booked out.
Reddy estimates the development will cost just under $23 million.
Austin-based hospitality company Locale has signed on to manage the property. It will be Locale's first foray into the Philadelphia market, but Director of Real Estate John Brosens said it is targeting future opportunities in other areas of the city, including Old City, Rittenhouse Square and University City.
Brosens said Locale may consider Fishtown as well.
“We love Philly as a market for us in particular. I think there's really strong hospitality demand, and I think even though it's been a rough couple of years for Philly, I think it's coming back really, really strongly,” Brosens said.
The hospitality group has several other properties open or under development in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Nashville and Menlo Park, California.
Genesis Capital is also planning further expansion into Philadelphia. Its apartment development, The Jaan at Old City, will be a 36-unit project at 141 N. 4th St., and Reddy said the company is in negotiations for a Center City high-rise with more than 300 units.
“We target cities where we can have a couple thousand units in the next five to seven years. That's our goal.” Reddy said. “If we do more than that, even better.”