October 22, 2009

Development Watch: 3rd Ave Hotel Trucking Along

3rd%20ave%20hotel%2010-2009.JPG
The future hotel on 3rd Avenue and 13th Street has just about reached full height. The project is slated to have 48 units. The developer named on DOB permits here is the same as the person named for the Super-8 on 3rd Avenue and President Street, which has looked complete for several months but has yet to open.
Development Watch: 13th Street Hotel Sprouting [Brownstoner]
Another Hotel In The Works for Gowanus [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB

October 7, 2009

Giddyup! Best Western Preps for New Downtown Location

There are no new building plans filed yet, but demolition has ramped up at the four small buildings at 55-63 Flatbush Avenue Extension where an 80-room Best Western is expected to rise. Frankly, we're surprised they're moving ahead right now but maybe this is what they call a greenshoot.
Two New Hotels Slated for Downtown Brooklyn [Brownstoner]
55 Flatbush Extension: GMAP DOB 57 Flatbush Extension: GMAP DOB
61 Flatbush Extension: GMAP DOB 63 Flatbush Extension: GMAP DOB

September 18, 2009

Seedy Greenpoint Hotel Changes Hands

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The legendarily shabby Greenpoint Hotel recently sold, marking the third time in the past decade that the flophouse has had new owners. A company based in the Bronx bought the property and some adjoining parcels for $3.5 million. An article a few years ago in the Times talked about the hotel's history, noting that "the hallways stink of marijuana and urine; the bathrooms - one per floor - are caked in dirt, and hot water is rare." NY Shitty, which has done a bunch of reporting on the establishment, took note of a fire in the building this August. GMAP
Photo from Property Shark

September 3, 2009

Development Watch: 4th Avenue Best Western

Despite a partial Stop Work Order that's been in place since December, the Best Western at the corner of 26th Street and 4th Avenue in Greenwood Heights has risen to six out of an ultimate ten stories. According to the management company's website, the hotel's slated to open next Spring, a prediction that seems a little optimistic to us.
Development Watch: Best Western Hits 4th Avenue [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark DOB

August 17, 2009

Gowanus Conversion On Ice

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A year ago developer Peter Moore, who has been active in the Hudson Square area of Manhattan, paid $12 million for the large warehouse at 92nd 3rd Street. At the time, Moore said he intended to convert the former home of prayer-card manufacturer Abigail Press into a mixed-use complex with a hotel, office space, and art and production studios. Now, however, like so many other projects, the 3rd Street conversion is on hold. Moore says he's had to "step back from the whole thing" because of a lack of financing. Moore also said the scope of the planned development might change.
Gowanus Sees Major Green With $12M Buy [Brownstoner] GMAP DOB

July 24, 2009

Construction Under Way for Gazillionth Gowanus Hotel

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A year ago, it was revealed that a lot on Degraw between 3rd and 4th avenues would one day house a hotel (this is how it's supposed to turn out) but there hasn't been a great deal of action at the site since then. Recently, though, crews have started in on excavation work. For those keeping score at home, there are presently three hotels open in Gowanus; another opening soon on President Street; and, with this build on Degraw, four others in some stage of construction. Aside from that, there are three more planned that may or may not happen.
Behold, the Latest Gowanus Hotel! [Brownstoner] GMAP
Development Watch: 13th Street Hotel Sprouting [Brownstoner]

July 13, 2009

237 Duffield Done This Year? Not Bloody Likely

On Friday, the Duffield St. Underground blog called B.S. on the short NY Post item that day that was primarily about the news of another V3 hotel at 231 Duffield Street but mentioned that the other V3 hotel already underway on the block at 237 Duffield was scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. What's the problem? Well, this photo from last month is the problem. Doesn't exactly look like they're going to complete a 24-story building from this point in six months, does it? GMAP

July 9, 2009

Development Watch: Aloft Topped Out

With yesterday's news of another V3 hotel coming to Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn, we thought we'd check back in with the Sheraton and Aloft double-shot being constructed across the street at 222 Duffield Street. Since we posted about it a month ago, the Aloft building appears to have topped out as well as having gotten some more framing along the street-side facade.
Development Watch: Aloft/Sheraton in High Gear [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Aloft on Duffield [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Downtown Sheraton/Aloft [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Aloft Hotel Starts to Take Shape [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 222 Duffield Keeps on Chugging [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Sheraton Hotel Fully Aloft [Brownstoner] GMAP
Duffield Doubleshot Halfway There [Brownstoner] P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: Duffield St. Hotels [Brownstoner]
On Duffield Street, Two Stories Down, 23 to Go [Brownstoner]

July 8, 2009

Another Hotel for Duffield Street

We told you about the demolition of 231 Duffield Street, thought to be one of the houses with a connection to the Underground Railroad, back in March. Now, courtesy of the Brooklyn Eagle, we know what's slated to rise on the site: V3 Hotels, which is already putting up a 24-story hotel next door at 237 Duffield, will also build a 19-story hotel at Number 231. The new project, designed by Thomas O'Hara, will have 130 rooms and cost $20 million to build. The V3 hotels are across the street from the Sheraton/Aloft combo across the street. Hotel row!
Downtown Brooklyn To Get Another New Hotel [Brooklyn Eagle]
231 Duffield RIP [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark DOB
Demolition of 231 Duffield Street Begins [Brownstoner]

July 1, 2009

Development Watch: 13th Street Hotel Sprouting

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Another story has been added to the future hotel on the corner of 13th Street and 3rd Avenue since we last checked in on it in April. There are currently three hotels open in the greater Gowanus area. Meanwhile, a Super 8 on 3rd Avenue and President Street is scheduled to open any day now, and construction is chugging along at a future Fairfield Inn on the corner of Butler Street and 3rd Avenue. As it stands now, then, there are six hotels that are likely to be in business in the neighborhood in the not-too-distant future, plus plans for at least four more—two on President Street, one on Degraw, and one on 3rd Street—that may or may not come to fruition.
Another Hotel In The Works for Gowanus [Brownstoner] GMAP

June 4, 2009

Development Watch: Aloft/Sheraton in High Gear

With the Sheraton hotel all glassed up, the Aloft's been playing catch up but is almost topped out. Based on this rendering, the side-by-side sister hotels are supposed to end up at the same height of 22 stories. Overall, this duo's looking pretty classy as far as most Brooklyn hotels go! Could be worse, right?
Development Watch: Aloft on Duffield [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Downtown Sheraton/Aloft [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Aloft Hotel Starts to Take Shape [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 222 Duffield Keeps on Chugging [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Sheraton Hotel Fully Aloft [Brownstoner] GMAP
Duffield Doubleshot Halfway There [Brownstoner] P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: Duffield St. Hotels [Brownstoner]
On Duffield Street, Two Stories Down, 23 to Go [Brownstoner]

May 27, 2009

Development Watch: 3rd Avenue Fairfield Inn

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The future Fairfield Inn on 3rd Avenue and Butler has risen pretty high since the last time we checked in on it. It also now has what we consider to be the best advertising campaign of any hotel ever. A banner on the building proclaims, "The Excitement of Being...Brooklyn's First Fairfield Inn. Coming Soonish." Excitingish!
Development Watch: SWO at Future Fairfield Inn [Brownstoner] GMAP
Fairfield Inn [Official Site]

May 26, 2009

Gowanus Super 8 Opening Soon

The latest entry into the crowded Gowanus hotel field will be a Super 8 on the corner of President Street and 3rd Avenue. The building's looked fairly complete for awhile now, and according to a rep from Wyndham Hotel Group (Super 8 is a Wyndham brand), it's "tentatively" scheduled to open on June 29th. No word yet on room rates. GMAP

May 5, 2009

Mixed News on Brooklyn Hotels

75 Schermerhorn Street
Sarah Ryley has a story in the current issue of The Real Deal trumpeting the fact that 10,000 hotel rooms in the city are now in some state of suspended development. Though the article is inherently rather Manhattan-centric, there are some newsy nuggets for watchers of the Brooklyn market. Most noteworthy: Foreclosure proceedings have reportedly been initiated at the Cambria Suites project at 75 Schermerhorn Street (above) and two people contracted to work on the project confirmed that it is indefinitely on hold. Over on Flatbush Extension, Best Western claims that it's still on track to build 80 rooms at #55 and Magna says it still wants to do its hotel in the former Pepper & Potter location at #125 but it has yet to land construction financing. At least one project isn't being held up by lack of financing: Sam Chang told TRD that he's going to finish his Comfort Inn in Sunset Park using his own cash.
10,000 Rooms on Ice [The Real Deal]
DOB Green-Lights Cambria Suites Hotel on Schermerhorn [Brownstoner]
Two New Hotels Slated for Downtown Brooklyn [Brownstoner]
From Cars to Mini-Fridges on Tillary [Brownstoner]

April 8, 2009

Another Hotel In The Works for Gowanus

Add another one to the long list of hotels planned for Gowanus: After receiving its building permit in February, a five-story hotel has started to rise at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 13th Street. As of last Sunday, they were up to the second floor. Who's going to stay in all these places?
Gowanus Hotel District Getting Even Bigger [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
Plan for 3rd Ave Hotel Brings Gowanus Total to 7 [Brownstoner] DOB

April 1, 2009

Hotel Le Bushwick On Tap

Despite its drab appearances, Williamsburg's Hotel Le Jolie must be doing well. Or, well enough, at least, to give its developers the confidence to proceed with another similar project in nearby Bushwick. According to a tipster, and confirmed by Department of Buildings filings, the 21,000-square-foot lot at 22 Sumner Avenue is slated to a seven story, 69-room hotel. According to one of the contractors involved, ground should be broken within the next week or two. Good place for a hotel? GMAP P*Shark DOB
Photo by George Spencer

March 17, 2009

Two New Hotels Slated for Downtown Brooklyn

The Eagle broke a double-shot of juicy Brooklyn hotel news yesterday. Item #1: The McSam hotel project at the corner of Nevins and Schermerhorn, whose demo (at right) we've been following for a while, will be a 176-room Hyatt Place Hotel; they're targeting an opening in the first quarter of 2011 for the 13-story project. Item #2: Best Western is planning a 80-room hotel at 55 Flatbush Extension, right next to the (inactive) Flatbush Flatiron. Actually, it looks to us like the Best Western project will take up the four buildings pictured at top from 53 to 61 Flatbush Extension; they sold at the end of last year for a combined $4,860,000.
Downtown B’klyn to get Hyatt, Best Western [Brooklyn Eagle]
Development Watch: 46 Nevins Street [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
Development Watch: 46 Nevins Street [Brownstoner] DOB

March 10, 2009

Development Watch: Aloft on Duffield

Across the street from the freshly-demolished 231 Duffield Street, the Aloft Hotel is up to six stories next door to the fully-built Sheraton. Given that it was at the four-story mark a month ago, that's actually not too impressive. Giddy Up!
Development Watch: Downtown Sheraton/Aloft [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Aloft Hotel Starts to Take Shape [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 222 Duffield Keeps on Chugging [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Sheraton Hotel Fully Aloft [Brownstoner] GMAP
Duffield Doubleshot Halfway There [Brownstoner] P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: Duffield St. Hotels [Brownstoner]
On Duffield Street, Two Stories Down, 23 to Go [Brownstoner]

March 9, 2009

Two Trees Closes on W'burg Hotel Property

Williamsburg just got one step closer to having its very own boutique hotel: Two Trees, the large Dumbo-based developer, just closed on the 41,000-square-foot warehouse at the corner of Wythe Avenue and North 11th Street. The price? $6,000,000. As far as we know, Two Trees has not made any headway on getting approval to increase the height of the building from 50 feet to 111 feet; the DOB denied the first request last June, but Two Trees is nothing if not persistent so we doubt that's the last we've heard of it. More likely that the project will go into hibernation until the financing environment improves.
Question Marks for Walentas W'burg Hotel Bid [Brownstoner] GMAP

March 3, 2009

Hard Times for Brooklyn Hotels

It's a tough time to be a hotelier in Brooklyn, according to a Daily News article today. Nightly rates at the Sunset Park Days Inn are down from $199 last summer to $50 and rates at the Nu hotel have gone from as high as $647 to $167. At Hotel Le Bleu, the days of $429 rooms are long gone, and the $1,000 spa packages appear to be not far behind. “We’re paying our bills — we’re not turning a profit or anything,” said Todd Cahill, director of Le Bleu's operations. “This year is going to be very unstable. It’s going to be very challenging.” Even the Downtown Marriott, prices are $60 lower than last year. "Brooklyn . . . is hurting pretty bad," said hotel developer Sam Chang, who built and sold five Brooklyn hotels in recent years. "There are too many hotels."
Plenty of Rooms - But No One's Staying [NY Daily News]
Brooklyn Hotels Hurting [Curbed]

February 5, 2009

Development Watch: Downtown Sheraton/Aloft

The 25-story Sheraton is almost done (no word on an opening date but the website says it's "currently accepting group inquiries at the pre-opening office") and its younger sibling next door, the Aloft, has reached five stories. The Sheraton looks pretty nice, we think. Certainly heads and shoulders above some other hotels that have been built in the borough in recent years.
Development Watch: Aloft Hotel Starts to Take Shape [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: 222 Duffield Keeps on Chugging [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Sheraton Hotel Fully Aloft [Brownstoner] GMAP
Duffield Doubleshot Halfway There [Brownstoner] P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: Duffield St. Hotels [Brownstoner]
On Duffield Street, Two Stories Down, 23 to Go [Brownstoner]

January 6, 2009

Read McSam's Lips: No New Hotels in Brooklyn

The McSam Hotel Group has made a tidy putting up low-end hotels in up-and-coming Brooklyn neighborhoods in recent years but that's all coming to an end. (Of course, the company's made even more money flipping properties in Manhattan.) "We were very bullish on Brooklyn — past tense," COO Gary Wisinki told The Real Deal. "Our hotels have done well, but we are very concerned with the amount of product planned for the borough." (This isn't exactly breaking news—Chang said something similar over a year ago at a Chamber of Commerce event.) One neighborhood in particular has been the target of McSam's affections in recent years: Sunset Park. Starting with the Days Inn at 435 39th Street (photo), the developer has a total of six hotels either finished or in progress in the area. Gowanus is also giving Sunset Park a run for its money: There are currently three recently completed hotels in the rapidly-transforming nabe and another six in the works. Much of this boom can be attributed to zoning that prohibited condos and rental buildings while allowing hotels. "If you had a dilapidated warehouse that wasn't good for anything else," said broker Ofer Cohen, "you could sell it as a hotel development site."
Sun Sets on Hotel boom in Brooklyn Nabe [TRD] GMAP
Brooklyn Hotel Buzz: Boom and Doom [Brownstoner]
Photo by Kate Leonova for Property Shark

December 30, 2008

Development Watch: Aloft Hotel Starts to Take Shape

With the 25-story Sheraton Hotel at 22 Duffield Street fully formed, its younger, next-door sibling, the Aloft, is now starting to take shape. The boutique-inspired Starwood brand will offer its youthful guests a lounge-y lobby and a 24/7 pantry among other hipster-targeted amenities. Our question: At what price?
Development Watch: 222 Duffield Keeps on Chugging [Brownstoner]
Development Watch: Sheraton Hotel Fully Aloft [Brownstoner] GMAP
Duffield Doubleshot Halfway There [Brownstoner] P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: Duffield St. Hotels [Brownstoner]
On Duffield Street, Two Stories Down, 23 to Go [Brownstoner]

December 1, 2008

Development Watch: 222 Duffield Keeps on Chugging

Plenty of progress at 222 Duffield in downtown Brooklyn. Gene Kaufman Architects' design for the hotel duo includes a 300-room Sheraton and a 180-room Aloft. That's an awful lot of inventory considering there are Holiday Inns and Fairfield Inns and such going in nearby as well. This project, it seems, will come to fruition; earlier this year we reported that as many of half of the hotel rooms planned for the borough wouldn't make it.
Development Watch: Sheraton Hotel Fully Aloft [Brownstoner] GMAP
Duffield Doubleshot Halfway There [Brownstoner] P*Shark DOB
Development Watch: Duffield St. Hotels [Brownstoner]
On Duffield Street, Two Stories Down, 23 to Go [Brownstoner]

November 7, 2008

Another Hotel for The Burg

The last piece of the puzzle is falling into place on Union Avenue, reports Curbed. This part of W'burg just east of the BQE is undergoing quite a boom, with a cluster of Karl Fischer buildings rising along with this Scarano one we looked at earlier this week. The coup de grace: A six-story, 54-room hotel on the site of the Getty Station at 447 Union Avenue. DOB app here.

Hotels