New hotels get built in places where the occupancy rate is high enough to indicate there is more business to go around. And no city in the United States has more new hotel construction than New York. By year end, the city will have 22 new hotels – adding more than 5,000 rooms.
And that number is expected to jump. The number of hotel rooms in Manhattan is expected to rise about 10% by the end of 2014. This week, TheElectricWeb looks at two new, ground-up hotel projects presently in development, and a mega-renovation at a stately Art Deco property in Midtown.
_________________________________________________________________________________
New 399-room Hotel near Hudson Yards
A new Marriott hotel project is afoot at 461 West 34th Street, just a block from the Javits Center on Manhattan’s Far West Side.
Also known as 428 Tenth Avenue, the new 29-story building will boast 399 rooms, according to the developer, Atria Builders. The corner site is presently a vacant lot.
The 197,253-square-foot project will be called Courtyard by Marriott at Javits Convention Center, according to Manhattan Regional Center, which is partnering with Atria Builders on the 312-foot tower.
The hotel is being partially funded through the Federal EB-5 program, which grants visas to foreigners who invest $500,000 or more in an American business. From 2008 to 2012, Marriott International has endorsed at least 14 projects using EB-5 financing.
Half a mile from the new project is another Courtyard by Marriott hotel at 307 West 37th Street.
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Another Trendy Hotel Planned for Williamsburg
The mixed-use project includes a new 100-room boutique hotel with indoor/outdoor restaurant space, ground floor retail space, and a 10-unit luxury condominium.
The two adjoining sites – located at a crossroads between Williamsburg and Bushwick, just off the Brooklyn Queens Expressway — were recently assembled after closing transactions with the two landowners.
"As Williamsburg has transformed over the past several years, developers have largely focused on residential projects. Our team sees tremendous value in providing a unique lodging option with a substantial food and beverage component to the area," states Justin Palmer, a partner at Synapse Capital.
The property, located three blocks from the Lorimer stop on the L train, is just two stops from Manhattan, and is close to numerous residential development projects in the area that will continue to create 24-hour demand for retail, food and beverage services in the area.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Once-Ritzy Hotel to Get Mega Makeover
But the 83-year-old property, with its signature red neon sign on the roof, sorely needs an upgrade.
The Art Deco hotel, located on Eighth Avenue between West 34th and West 35th Streets, is sinking tens of millions into a major renovation that will double the number of rooms it operates, to 1,800—and make it the third-largest hotel in the Big Apple.
Rather than courting celebrities and tourists—the hotel will now target business travelers.
The megaproject at 481 Eighth Avenue will take five years to complete. Phase-I is a $30 million conversion of nearly a third of its space, much of it vacant or occupied by commercial office tenants, to new hotel rooms.
By February, the New Yorker will unveil 114 new rooms and roll out another 174 rooms by June. It will continue to add rooms over the next five years, until it stands behind only the Hilton New York, at 1,981 rooms, and the Marriott Marquis Times Square, at 1,957 rooms.
Page Views
Since October 1, 2011
