The Waylen

Announced in January 2024, The Waylen would turn a decommissioned U.S. Navy receiving station in Philadelphia's Navy Yard into a 223-room Hyatt Unbound Collection hotel, the district's second. More than two years later, the project remains in pre-construction, with no groundbreaking, no confirmed financing, and no mention in the latest reporting on the Navy Yard's development pipeline.

The place

The Waylen would occupy the former naval receiving station and barracks at the core of the Navy Yard, Philadelphia's 1,200-acre former shipyard on the Delaware River south of Center City, a complex built in phases between 1919 and 1942 and never previously operated as a hotel. The site faces the district's Central Green and sits roughly four miles from Philadelphia International Airport, within a masterplanned campus of offices, life-science labs, and new apartment buildings that Ensemble and Mosaic have been developing under a 15-year, roughly $4.8 billion agreement with PIDC.

The concept

The project calls for an adaptive reuse of the receiving station's masonry shell into a 223-room hotel under Hyatt's Unbound Collection, the brand reserved for one-off properties built inside historic or distinctive structures. Plans described by the developers include roughly 18,500 square feet of event space, a six-treatment-room spa, and a concealed speakeasy bar, positioning the hotel as both a stand-alone destination and a meeting venue for the Navy Yard's office and life-science tenants.

The brand and room count have been public since January 2024, but no construction has followed. Ensemble's corporate site now lists the project status simply as "pre-construction," and Mosaic's project page still cites a start date of "2024" that has since passed without a groundbreaking. A winter 2025-2026 report from commercial real estate association CREDA, co-authored with the developers, described the hotel's equity financing as not yet fully secured.

Dining & wellness

The developers have described a three-meal restaurant and cocktail lounge alongside the speakeasy concept, but no operator, chef, or restaurant name has been announced, and none of the food-and-beverage details have been updated since the original 2024 announcement.