Breaking ground for a new hotel in Center City Philadelphia

CENTER CITY - April 17, 2012 (WPVI) -- A ceremonial toss of the dirt made it official, as they broke ground Tuesday for the new Home2 Suites By Hilton.

The 246-suite hotel will sit on the corner of 12th and Arch Streets.

More than 200 guests came from all over the country to celebrate the groundbreaking on the $60 million project.

"The great news is, as I understand it, many of them struggled to find hotel rooms," said Robert Zuritsky, president of Parkway Corporation.

Parkway and the Wurzak Hotel Group shared hosting duties for Tuesday's ceremony, lauding the new hotel's "location, location, location."

The property sits across from the newly expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Reading Terminal Market, next to a Parkway garage and within blocks of a major transit hub.

"Being located at the best location in Philadelphia, where you have convention demand, leisure demand and corporate demand, we're going to ride that train all the way to the station," said Jake Wurzak, Esq. of the Wurzak Hotel Group.

The hotel is hoping to draw both tourists and business travelers, generating 123 new construction jobs and 146 permanent hotel jobs.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter talked about the increasing need for hotels as the city expands its attractions, museums, and restaurants.

"We're going to continue to invest, continue to grow, continue to support this great industry, which gives livelihood and life to people and to this great city," he said.

The hotel is expected to be completed by summer 2013.

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philadelphia, tourism, center city, mayor michael nutter, local/state, katherine scott

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