Broadway Hotel Tallest in Western Hemisphere

The new 68-story hotel located at 1717 Broadway at 54th Street -- which has the distinction of being the tallest in the Western Hemisphere -- has topped out at lofty 750-feet, the tower’s developer Granite Broadway Development announced yesterday. The development's 634 rooms will actually be two hotels: the lower 24 floors will be a 378-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel, and the upper 30 floors will be a 261-room Residence Inn. Both hotels are slated to open in late 2013.

 The midtown hotel will feature 20,000-square-feet of ground-floor retail space, a leased restaurant on the second floor and a lounge and terrace with outdoor seating and views of Broadway on the fifth floor. The development is the largest new hotel project in New York since the 863-room Westin New York at Times Square opened in 2002.

When completed, 1717 Broadway will be 70 feet taller than the Mandarin Oriental at Time Warner Center, and more than 155 feet taller than the Trump International, making them the tallest hotels the Western Hemisphere.

See ElectricWeb | Blogger (May 15, 2012)

As its height suggests, it will permit its guests impressive views of the city. But in the dog-eat-dog world of New York City real estate, so too will the building - already distinct for the way its thin profile dramatically contrasts with its soaring height - also stand in the way of such views from the upper floors of its neighbors.

1717 Broadway will obstruct the eastward views for 250 West 55th Street, a new million-square-foot office tower just a block west that is in the process of being developed by Boston Properties. The situation is not the first time a new tower has been built only to have its views usurped by a rival’s. There is a ruthless math to tower development in Manhattan and the addition of one building to the skyline always subtracts from the views of another.