PHILADELPHIA The 74-year-old Warwick Hotel & Towers is considering reconverting itself into a residential building that doubles as a hotel, in response to the decline in Philadelphias hotel occupancy rates and the growing demand for Center City apartments.
In 1997, the Warwick began a $15 million renovation to its 350 hotel rooms and 200 apartments. Completed two years later, the work transformed all the apartments in the 22-story building into hotel rooms. More than 200 full-time residents of the Warwick were forced to move.
Occupancy rates in the city have dropped due to fears of a slowing economy and an oversupply of high-end hotel rooms. (2/19/01)
SOURCE: The Philadelphia Inquirer