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With all the controversy swirling around the Underground Railroad houses on the east side of Duffield Street, we thought it would be interesting to check in on what’s going on the west side of the street. One word: Hotel. Two, actually. As has been briefly mentioned in various places over the past few months, the Lam Group is planning two side-by-side hotels that will add a combined 500 rooms to the boroughs inventory. On the left will be a 320-room full-service Sheraton; on the right, a 180-room Aloft hotel. Both buildings are designed by Gene Kaufman Architect and will be 24-stories high for a total square footage of 200,000. GMAP P*Shark DOB
NYC Sees Wave Of New Midprice Hotels [BTonline]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Actually, the criticism of this architect is wholly appropriate and without any bearing on his renderings. Look at renderings of older projects and you will see that, in every case, the constructed building is even worse than anticipated. Want proof? Look at his Hampton Inn on West 24th Street or his new hotels going up on in the West 20’s & 30’s west of 6th Avenue. This guy has absolutely no aesthetic skills and to defend the design reveals a real ignorance of what the art “architecture” is all about.

    The Lam Group has every right to build, but this kind of newly constructed blight needs to be reeled in. There needs to be an architectural review board to ensure that new buildings – particularly in a new development zone – meet minimal aesthetic standards.

    Look at Jersey City and then look at Brooklyn. It is astonishing that a borough that has the incredible architecture of Court Street is seeing its next boom phase populated with this stuff that offends the senses on every level.

  2. That area has lots of good transit access, plenty of cabs and a few existing parking garages. Why do they need to build another one? Plenty of hotels in the city do just fine without a garage.

  3. I wonder too if critics are basing all their clever remarks on this one little picture. I checked out their website and don’t find it.
    To me the pic is too little and reveals too little to even have an inkling of what will look like…alone or in context.
    I think the point of commentors is to be the most clever and most cutting and what building really will look like makes no difference. And those goes for 90% of postings.

  4. i thought a lot of the other projects on the website looked above average.

    i didn’t see this one, however. maybe i just missed it.

    if you’re simply going by the above rendering which doesn’t really show much, i’m not sure how you can make such adamant remarks.