The legendary Beury lives on
The Hotel Beury reshapes the historic 14-story, 112,000-square-foot skyscraping Beury Building and reinvigorates a community cornerstone along the North Broad Street corridor in North Philadelphia. Preserving its Art Deco aesthetic and connecting with its community roots, the Hotel Beury transforms the legendary Beury Building into a full-service hotel with 172 guest rooms, a ground-floor restaurant, a rooftop bar and terrace, a fitness center, and meeting spaces.
“For decades, the building was a graffiti-marked eyesore representing vacant properties and others preconceived notions of empathy and ideas about the neighborhood. With [the Hotel Beury], we see a catalyst for future growth that will bring the pride back to our community.”
— Nicetown Tioga Improvement Team and The Friends of the Williams Moore Reed Memorial Park
History in the re-making
Completed in 1933 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Beury Building first served as the then-National Bank of North Philadelphia, which was led by Dr. Charles E. Beury. Designed by architect William Harold Lee, the Beury Building is the only Art Deco style building in Philadelphia outside of the downtown area. Decades later, disinvestment came, and the building sat vacant. As the Beury aged, it became a canvas for notable graffiti artists, Boner and Forever, whose tags infamously marked the building as the Boner Forever building.
As the Beury Building has evolved, its towering structure has always remained a beacon of the community. This next evolution to the Hotel Beury looks to re-energize the Beury Building by mixing its rich architectural heritage and neighborhood character with modern design, by returning jobs to the neighborhood, by creating opportunity for the community, and by reigniting pride in the community.
Photo courtesy: Beau Monde Originals
At the intersection of community and opportunity
In the heart of North Philadelphia, the Hotel Beury sits at the 3700 block of North Broad Street at the intersection of North Broad Street, Erie Avenue, and Germantown Avenue, three primary arteries of Philadelphia. The Hotel Beury anchors the redevelopment of the North Broad Street Corridor, a focus area in the city-wide 2035 master plan, and supports visitors to Temple University, Temple’s Medical Campus, and Shriners Hospitals for Children.
We are taking an active, intentional local approach to hiring. We are connecting with neighborhood and Philly-area residents to help build their skills and sharpen their tool belts, and to prepare the next generation of trade professionals.
Investing in the neighborhood
The Hotel Beury will be developed and operated by a partnership between SHIFT Capital and the Wankawala Organization. SHIFT and The Wankawala Organization seek to make a long-term investment and commitment to the neighborhood together with our development and community partners, the Broad-Germantown-Erie Collaborative (BGEC): Called to Serve CDC, Nicetown Tioga Improvement Team, Hunting Park United, Hunting Park CRC/NAC, Nicetown Community Development Corporation, and North10, Philadelphia.
SHIFT, the Wankawala Organization, and BGEC signed a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) that prioritizes community-centered goals, local hiring and training, and neighborhood safety and beautification. The CBA sets goals for:
Hiring local and Minority Business Enterprises and Women Business Enterprises for temporary and permanent jobs.
Establishing a BGEC jobs coordinator who will refer local and minority applicants to open positions, job fairs, postings.
Assembling job training and apprenticeship initiatives for neighborhood residents.
Leasing space to businesses that are local and/or who will prioritize residents for permanent jobs.
Providing consistent safety and security measures around the site.
Participating in neighborhood cleanups and providing site beautification and maintenance.
