Absolute Auction of One Meridian

"The Center City site that was once eyed for a Waldorf-Astoria is hitting the auction block. The property, where a fatal fire ravaged One Meridian Plaza in 1991, is 22,400 square feet — about a half acre — and could handle an 848,000-square-foot structure.

A Ritz-Carlton had been planned for the former One Meridian site, where a parking lot generates income.
The auction will be held Oct. 5 at the Union League of Philadelphia. The absolute auction means the parcel will be sold regardless of price. The property at 1441 Chestnut St. has an existing surface parking lot producing an annual net operating income of $650,000.

Mariner Commercial Properties bought the property nearly 10 years ago for roughly $12 million. Mariner Commercial, which is run by Tim Mahoney, and Brook Lenfest’s Brooks Capital Group were in a partnership to build the Waldorf on the site. The market for the hotel, which would have also had a portion of its units as condominiums, turned and the project was killed."