Mother-Son Duo Plan “Power” Nightclub Near Chinatown
A new state-of-the-art nightclub could soon change the face of nightlife in Philadelphia. The project is the brainchild of mother-son team James and Micheline DeBerardine. James was described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as ” a 24-year-old dance-music impresario from Connecticut.” Micheline, on the other hand, has a background in New York real estate law. The pair selected Philadelphia for their project, proving further that Philadelphia has the goods to attract outside investors.
An artist’s rendering shows the planned 16-story apartment building on Vine St. along with the nightclub next door.
The nightclub is to be called NOTO, or “Not Of the Ordinary.” It will have its home in what is currently an out-of-date office building near 12th and Vine, just north of Chinatown. The DeBerardines are bragging that NOTO will be not only the biggest, but also the most technically-advanced nightclubs in the City of Brotherly Love. According to the Inquirer, visitors to NOTO can expect “name-brand DJs from the Las Vegas-Amsterdam-Ibiza circuit, a speaker system built by Finnish soundsmiths, and VIP seating with flowing bottle-service champagne.” James boasted that the nightclub will have “the latest and greatest of everything.”
The building is planned to have a 1,000-person capacity nightclub, with offices on the upper stories and two ground-floor restaurants. One of the restaurants will be run by Philadelphia chef Sylva Senat of Dos Tacos. This kitchen will also provide food for NOTO.
Micheline told press that the duo initially planned a nightclub as an opportunity to take advantage of James’ “high profile” contacts in the music business. James said that, thanks to his behind-the-scenes background in the music industry, he’ll be able to pull some of the world’s best musical arts to perform at NOTO.
The family’s masterplan includes not only the nightclub, but a 99-unit apartment building to be erected on an empty lot next door. It will have 16 floors and will include a “high tech automated parking system.”
