A 137-year-old church complex at 1900 S. 16th St. in South Philadelphia is set to become a 30-room boutique hotel, following an $8 million renovation. Huttenlock purchased the former True Gospel Tabernacle Family Church building for $2 million, and the project has already secured zoning permits for the hotel conversion.
Huttenlock is currently converting the former Holy Name of Jesus Church convent in Fishtown into an eight-unit apartment building and is nearly finished turning a former convent at 3230 Belgrade St. in Port Richmond into 12 apartments.
The property is at 1900 S. 16th St. in South Philadelphia.
From Sanctuary to Suites
The church complex spans three buildings across half a city block, according to the Inquirer’s reporting. The sanctuary itself stands 42 feet high, and the renovation will require underpinning along with the removal of 1,000 cubic yards of soil. Zoning permits secured on October 29 cover the 30-room hotel.
A Building With Layered History
The chapel on 16th Street dates to 1889, according to a report from OCF Realty, which says it was joined eight years later by a church on Bancroft Street and a parish hall on Mifflin Street. OCF Realty’s account adds that the complex’s campanile went up in 1902 and was apparently the first of its kind built in America, though that claim isn’t stated with certainty…