PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - An agreement has been reached to develop the Philadelphia Navy Yard’s first hotel.

A new 168-room “Courtyard by Marriott” is planned for the Navy Yard Corporate Center.   Groundbreaking is set for this spring, and the hotel is expected to open in 2013.

John Gattuso is senior vice president for Liberty Property Trust, which was selected by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation in 2002 to develop buildings in the corporate center.

“Recognizing that we have a growing corporate presence there, clearly there is a need for additional amenities,” Gattuso said today, “and therefore we sough through a competitive process to bring in a hotel developer who would  develop and own the hotel within our corporate park.”

He says Liberty Property Trust’s hotel development partner — Ensemble — is close to securing financing for the hotel.

Reported by John McDevitt, KYW Newsradio 1060