Developer Bart Blatstein Pushes for Hotel at Former Inquirer Building

A Philadelphia developer is taking another shot at turning the former home of the city's two largest newspapers into a hotel.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports developer Bart Blatstein's Tower Investments is proposing transforming the North Broad Street building into a 125-room hotel. It would cost more than $36 million.

The plan surfaced in an application this week seeking $5 million in state funding for the project.

The proposal comes after a plan to develop a casino there unraveled last year. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board issued the city's last casino license to another company.

Blatstein didn't respond to the newspaper's requests for comment.

He bought the former home of the Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News in 2011 for $23 million.