Inquirer Editorial: Courting development

The Nutter administration has taken the rare and welcome step of choosing a company that doesn't expect millions of dollars in government assistance for the redevelopment of the old Family Court building. That would break the city's streak of subsidizing Center City hotel construction for more than 20 years. Better yet, the developer isn't fighting its obligation to protect the New Deal-era building's historically significant features.

San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels has pledged to preserve the 73-year-old courthouse's facade, which was declared historically significant in 1971, as well as important interior features, including 37 extraordinary Works Progress Administration murals, lighting fixtures, handrails, and duct grilles. The company's agreement to work within historic guidelines means the development won't require laborious, time-consuming appeals of regulations with uncertain outcomes. Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger rightly noted that Kimpton's plan provides the shortest path to a finished project, one that could be realized in a couple of years.

Councilman James Kenney criticized the deal, however, saying other developers had more ambitious plans that would have created more jobs. Kimpton's rivals for the project had asked for deep city subsidies, and one called for adding a floor on top of the historic Logan Square courthouse.

But Kimpton, which is working with Peebles Corp. of New York City and local developers P&A Associates, is no slouch. The company has proven to Philadelphians that it can perform sensitive restorations of historic buildings. The hotelier recently converted the Architects Building, on South 17th Street, into the four-star Hotel Palomar, and the Lafayette Building, near Independence Hall, into the stylish Hotel Monaco. Both are strong additions to the city's stock of fine hotels.

The company plans about 200 hotel rooms in the courthouse, along with a 3,500-square-foot ballroom, meeting and board rooms, a spa and fitness center, and a restaurant and bar. The courts are moving to a new building at 15th and Arch Streets.

The $90 million makeover will join several other current projects in the museum district. A Mormon temple is going up across the street from the old courthouse, at 18th and Vine, and the church recently announced plans to build a 32-story apartment tower and meetinghouse nearby, at 16th and Vine. These projects will complement the existing swath of well-kept residential buildings along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The church apartments won't get any state or city money, and they will be subject to taxes.

Meanwhile, LOVE Park, an important publicly owned piece of the Parkway puzzle, is set to get a face-lift thanks to a recent agreement between the mayor and City Council.

For centuries, the city and its philanthropic community have invested untold millions in the Parkway and its institutions. The Kimpton project shows these investments can pay off without further government handouts.