From L to R: Virgin Hotel, Moxy Hotel Chelsea, 132 West 28th Street,Marriott Renaissance Hotel
A wide swath of Chelsea was once known as the Flower District, yet today it shrank to a single block of West 28th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Even there, the nine-to-five sidewalk jungle of plants on display shares space with an ever-growing number of hotels. Several have spring up like wildflowers during the 2010’s, yet many more are still on the way across the neighborhood.
This hotel crop, enabled by the neighborhood’s predominantly commercial zoning, services everyone from the city’s ever-growing hordes of tourists to executives and other techies traveling to the emerging technology hub, dubbed “Silicon Alley,” that is also flourishing in the neighborhood with many outposts of West Coast companies. Below, see a rundown of recently finished and in-the-works new hotels.
This hotel crop, enabled by the neighborhood’s predominantly commercial zoning, services everyone from the city’s ever-growing hordes of tourists to executives and other techies traveling to the emerging technology hub, dubbed “Silicon Alley,” that is also flourishing in the neighborhood with many outposts of West Coast companies. Below, see a rundown of recently finished and in-the-works new hotels.
Name: Renaissance New York Chelsea Hotel
Address: 112 West 25th Street
Floors / Room Count: 40 floors / 341 rooms
Architect: Nobutaka Ashihara w/ interior designers Stonehill & Taylor
Developer: Lam Generation
Opening Date: February 2020
Rendering via Marriott International
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Developer Lam Generation built a new Marriott Renaissance hotel measuring 450 feet high and 140,000 square feet on the site where the Antiques Garage flea market once stood. With the help of some unused neighboring development rights, the building will be one of the tallest in the area. Stonehill Taylor (architecture firm from the aforementioned Moxy Hotel) is designing the interior, while architect Nobutaka Ashihara is designing the building.
Interiors designer Stonehill Taylor was inspired by "the unique history of its locale in Manhattan’s Garment District and Flea Market Row,” and Indiewalls nods to the artistry of Chelsea with a curated art collection. Italian restaurant Cotto will open in the early spring, and the bi-level pool and rooftop lounge, Somewhere Nowhere, will welcome guests in the warmer months.
Interiors designer Stonehill Taylor was inspired by "the unique history of its locale in Manhattan’s Garment District and Flea Market Row,” and Indiewalls nods to the artistry of Chelsea with a curated art collection. Italian restaurant Cotto will open in the early spring, and the bi-level pool and rooftop lounge, Somewhere Nowhere, will welcome guests in the warmer months.
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Name: Marriott TownePlace Suites and Springhill Suites
Address: 140 West 28th Street
Floors / Room Count: 46 floors / 531 rooms
Architect: Gene Kaufman
Developer: Sam Chang’s McSam Hotel Group
Opening Date: 2020
The high-rise building under construction at 140 West 28th Street will be home to two Marriott brand hotels, TownePlace Suites and the Springhill Suites, each with a separate entrance but both sharing amenities such as a public arcade, fitness center, meeting rooms, and a dining room. Architect Gene Kaufman’s slender, boxy structure stands almost 500 feet tall to the top of its twin water tanks, which topped out in mid-2019, and counts 46 stories and 531 rooms in total. The building is among the tallest buildings in Chelsea and contributes to extending the greater Midtown skyline to the south.
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Name:
Le Meridien
Address: 292 Fifth Avenue
Floors / Room Count: 21 floors / 141 rooms
Architect: Gene Kaufman
Developer: McSam Hotel Group
Opening Date: 2020
Rendering via Gene Kaufman
The dynamic hotelier/architect duo, Sam Chang and Gene Kaufman, strike again, this time at 292 Fifth Avenue between East 30th and East 31st streets. Continuing to build his hotel dynasty, Sam Chang closed on 292 Fifth Avenue in March 2017 for $42.4 million. The 21-story, mixed-use building includes 141 rooms, with 17 residences on the top five floors. Some reports claim the property will debut as a Le Meridien hotel, which would make it the only one in New York following the closing of the Midtown property in January 2018.
292 Fifth Avenue is the 'small' mid-rise in center (CityRealty)
Name: The Fifth Avenue Hotel
Address: 250 Fifth Avenue
Floors / Room Count: 23 floors / 141 rooms
Architect: Perkins Eastman
Developer: Flaneur Hospitality
Flaneur Hospitality | Rendering credit: TMWR.SE
Shortly after founding Flaneur Hospitality, Alex Ohebshalom turned his attention to 250 Fifth Avenue, the McKim, Meade & White bank building erected in 1908, well before NoMad was a twinkle in developers' eyes. Architect Perkins Eastman will restore the facade, and a ground-up development of a 23-story tower totaling over 130,000 square feet will also take shape.
According to PBDW, although the initial Landmark Commission reviews were deemed not favorable, they “uncovered a 1911 New York Times article describing a proposal for a ‘tall loft building’ on the site. By an extraordinary coincidence, our own offices were in a nearby ‘tall loft building’ built in 1913.” PBDW was able to successfully convince the Landmarks Commission that a tall building was possible and that their design was appropriate to the historic district.
Guests will enter through a former carriage house, and the ground and second floors of the hotel will include a café-restaurant. A full 125-150 seat restaurant with a bar and an open terrace is planned for the roof of the existing building and there will be an event space with terraces overlooking Madison Square Park and lower Manhattan on the top floor of the 23-story tower.
According to PBDW, although the initial Landmark Commission reviews were deemed not favorable, they “uncovered a 1911 New York Times article describing a proposal for a ‘tall loft building’ on the site. By an extraordinary coincidence, our own offices were in a nearby ‘tall loft building’ built in 1913.” PBDW was able to successfully convince the Landmarks Commission that a tall building was possible and that their design was appropriate to the historic district.
Guests will enter through a former carriage house, and the ground and second floors of the hotel will include a café-restaurant. A full 125-150 seat restaurant with a bar and an open terrace is planned for the roof of the existing building and there will be an event space with terraces overlooking Madison Square Park and lower Manhattan on the top floor of the 23-story tower.
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Name: Aloft Hotel
Address: 132 West 28th Street
Floors / Room Count: 32 floors / 203 rooms
Architect: Peter Poon
Developer: Frank Ng
Opening Date: 2020
132 West 28th Street zoning diagram via DOB
Two blocks from the Ace Hotel and on the same block as the two new Marriott hotels, New Jersey-based importer-exporter, Frank Ng originally filed an application to build a 32-story Aloft Hotel outpost at 132 West 28th Street with JWC Architects. Now Peter Poon, the architect renovating the LaGuardia Ibis hotel, is now the architect on record for this project.
The proposal states the hotel will have 203 rooms over 125,000 square feet and rise 326 feet high. According to Real Estate Weekly, “extended-stay units are likely in the works.” On the ground floor, there will be a lounge and bar. The second floor will have a fitness center and outdoor terrace. There will be a conference room on the third floor and a club on the 30th. Ng bought the building for $14.07 million in 2007.
The proposal states the hotel will have 203 rooms over 125,000 square feet and rise 326 feet high. According to Real Estate Weekly, “extended-stay units are likely in the works.” On the ground floor, there will be a lounge and bar. The second floor will have a fitness center and outdoor terrace. There will be a conference room on the third floor and a club on the 30th. Ng bought the building for $14.07 million in 2007.
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Name: The Virgin Hotel
Address: 1227 Broadway
Floors / Room Count: 39 floors / 465 rooms
Architect: VOA Associates
Developer: Lam Group
Opening Date: 2020
Virgin Hotel renderings via VOA Associates
The Lam Group’s, VOA Associates designed Virgin hotel is located on Broadway between West 29th and West 30th Streets. The 500,000 square foot hotel will be 39 stories with 465 “new concept rooms” that will include large suites and two double-height “rockstar” suites. The ground-floor retail space will be occupied by Swingers, an upscale indoor miniature golf course. The hotel will also include a sky lobby club room with a private roof deck and pool as well as a sky club room on the top two floors. Construction topped out in February 2019.
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Address: 57 West 24th Street
Floors / Room Count: 19 stories / 77 rooms
Architect: Sung Ho Shin
Developer: Jin Sup An
Opening Date: Unknown
Jim Sup An, the developer of 36 Hudson Hotel, is building a 19-story hotel where the gay bar XES Lounge once stood (XES touted it’s outdoor smoking patio that had free “Gay’s Papaya” hot dogs every Sunday).
The building will stand 179-feet tall structure with 19,850 square feet. The hotel’s only amenities will be a lobby and lounge. Architect Sung Ho Shin is on record to as the architect.
The building will stand 179-feet tall structure with 19,850 square feet. The hotel’s only amenities will be a lobby and lounge. Architect Sung Ho Shin is on record to as the architect.
Address: 140-146 West 24th Street
Floors / Room Count: 45 floors / 508 rooms
Architect: Gene Kaufman
Developer: McSam Hotel Group
Opening Date: Unknown
142 West 24th Street
The developer/architect duo is at it again. In addition to developing the Marriott’s TownePlace Suites and the Springhill Suites hotels and 292 Fifth Avenue (both mentioned above), developer Sam Chang, of McSam Hotel Group, and architect Gene Kaufman, will design and build a 45-floor, 508 room hotel at 140-146 West 24th Street. The hotel will be a 172,640 square foot building on the lot that used to house the private music venue, the Red Door, until it closed in 2015.
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Address: 842 Sixth Avenue
Floors / Room Count: 25 floors / 168 rooms
Architect: AESI Professional Architecture
Developer: Anonymous LLC
Opening Date: Unknown
An anonymous LLC filed permits to build a 25-story hotel at 842 Sixth Avenue, between 29th and 30th streets. The hotel will stand 315-foot tall with 77,900 square feet. Reported indoor amenities will include a reading lounge, boardroom, fitness center, and break room in the cellar. Outdoor amenities will include a lounge and two bars on the third and fourth floors. AESI Architecture is listed as the architect.
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Address: 113-117 West 24th Street
Floors / Room Count: 38 floors / 360 rooms
Architect: Stonehill & Taylor
Developer: Lam Generation
Opening Date: Unknown
After nearly two years of negotiations on 117 West 24th Street, the deal between Sharif El-Gamal (the developer behind the residential condominium at 45 Park Place and the Jean Nouvel-designed Islamic museum at 49-51 Park Place) and Lam Generation fell through. In February 2018, Lam Generation filed plans with the city to develop the hotel itself. It will rise next to the Renaissance Hotel (see above).
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Address: 876 Sixth Avenue
Floors / Room Count: 15 floors / 37 rooms
Architect: Bricolage Designs
Developer: Pinky Realty
876 Sixth Avenue at the corner of West 31st Street
Building permits were filed in 2015 to build a new 15-story hotel with 37 rooms and retail on the first and second floors. The listed developer is Raizada Vaid of Pinky Realty and the architect of record is Bricolage Designs. There has been no progress at the site since the filing.
Name: The Ritz-Carlton New York (Madison Park)
Address: 1185 Broadway
Floors / Room Count: 40 floors / 250 rooms
Architect: Rafael Vinoly Architects
Developer: Paul Kanavos of Flag Luxury Properties
Rendering of 1185 Broadway (via EB-5 Capital)
Paul Kanavos of Flag Luxury Properties is planning to build a 40-story mixed-use hotel tower at the corner of West 28th Street and Broadway in NoMad. Designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects with 250 hotel suites, 8 residential condominiums and approximately 3,400 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The hotel will be managed by the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The low-rise retail building and parking garage at the site have been demolished and permits were recently partially approved.
Recently finished
Name: The Moxy Hotel
Address: 105-109 West 28th Street
Floors / Room Count: 35 floors / 343 rooms
Architect: Stonehill Taylor
Developer: Lightstone Group
Opening Date: March 2019
In a partnership with Marriott International, the Lightstone Group has erected another millennial magnet, the Moxy Hotel at 105-109 West 28th Street. In contrast with many of its dime-a-dozen hotel counterparts, the Moxy displays a refined aesthetic that pays homage to its unique surroundings.
According to the architect’s press release, Stonehill Taylor "was inspired by the surrounding floral district, the facade is corten steel and glass. The entrance to the hotel will be through the loading berth, which will feature a variety of planters.”
The 35-story building counts 343 guest rooms as well as meeting rooms, grab and go market, two rear yard terraces and a sky lounge with a retractable roof. It opened in spring 2019, and Feroce Ristorante was not far behind. The Times Square Moxy opened last year and more NYC Moxys are in the works.
According to the architect’s press release, Stonehill Taylor "was inspired by the surrounding floral district, the facade is corten steel and glass. The entrance to the hotel will be through the loading berth, which will feature a variety of planters.”
The 35-story building counts 343 guest rooms as well as meeting rooms, grab and go market, two rear yard terraces and a sky lounge with a retractable roof. It opened in spring 2019, and Feroce Ristorante was not far behind. The Times Square Moxy opened last year and more NYC Moxys are in the works.
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Contributing Writer
Michelle Sinclair Colman
Michelle writes children's books and also writes articles about architecture, design and real estate. Those two passions came together in Michelle's first children's book, "Urban Babies Wear Black." Michelle has a Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota and a Master's degree in the Cities Program from the London School of Economics.
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