Old and current design for new hotel to afflict West 38th Street
Architecturally speaking, little is worse than having a promising Neo-classical design watered down into another horror-hotel designed by Gene Kaufman. While some of us have better things to worry about, here at CityRealty we take the integrity of our streetscape seriously, even if we're working on the "dark side."
Nevertheless, construction has begun on another embarrassing budget hotel at 36 West 38th Street in Midtown. Set to rise within the gritty confines of the Fashion/Garment District between Bryant Park and the Empire State Building, crews and equipment have moved on-site to make way for a 19-floor, 114-room lodging with standard amenities.
Back in summer 2013, Gemini Real Estate Advisors filed plans to build a similarly-scaled project with Gene Kaufman serving as the executive architects and the classically-attuned office of Atelier & Co handling the design. Atelier worked with Gemini on their palatable Walker Hotel Greenwich Village (formerly Jade Hotel) and the overhaul of a Best Western Hotel now known as the Mr. C Seaport. Their next endeavor honed in on this 38th Street site and called for a beautiful vision that led Curbed to say: “But wait, that’s Gene Kaufman? And it looks that prewar/historic/contextual/good? Well, color us surprised. Atelier & Co must be a good influence.”
Atelier described the design as a boutique hotel that aspires to enhance the skyline south of Bryant Park. The 20-story tower would have been composed of a triumphal arch at the base, a 15-story arched bay window, and a temple-fronted loggia capped by a baroque lantern. The lobby was to be finished in Florentine-inspired materials and a restaurant would have been sky lit and featured Neo-Classical vaulted ceilings, mosaic floors, and wall murals “to create an urbane setting for diners.” How civilized.
Unbuilt Jade Hotel rendering credit: Atelier & Co.
In 2015, the New York Observer reported that a legal battle between Gemini’s partners has led them to auction off their properties including this Midtown lot. City records show John Sharma, developer of the Paul Hotel in NoMad, snapped up the lot in May 2017, paying nearly $8 million for the 4,345-square-foot parcel. A recently posted rendering on the construction fence shows this new team is now shooting for the bottom of the barrel with an incoherent design of offset windows, tumor pop-outs, and the signature streetwall setback so we can ogle at the sidewalls of the adjacent buildings. Typically, renderings show the project at hand in the best possible light, so brace yourself for the real thing.
Capture of current design for 36 West 38th Street (CityRealty)
New Developments Editor
Ondel Hylton
Ondel is a lifelong New Yorker and comprehensive assessor of the city's dynamic urban landscape.
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