Construction is wrapping up on the Hard Rock Hotel, a 36-story tower at 159 West 48th Street in Times Square. Designed by SLCE Architects and developed by Extell and Hard Rock International, the 442-foot-tall, 291,000-square-foot structure will yield 446 guest rooms by the corner of West 48th Street and Seventh Avenue. Aecom Tishman is the general contractor for the Midtown project.
Since our last update, the remainder of the glass curtain wall and façade panels have been installed, and only some finishing touches remain to be completed on the podium levels.
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
159 West 48th Street (left). Photo by Michael Young
Photographs of the main southern elevation along West 48th Street show the wall of uniform glass flanked by black paneling. The podium is clad in a light-colored stone assembly. When viewed from Seventh Avenue, the tower’s straightforward design blends well with the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood. Its large LED billboards are already operational and flash colorful advertisements 24/7.
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
A rectangular void in the middle of the podium marks the position of the main entrance, which features a canopy that extends over the sidewalk.
159 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
The Hard Rock Hotel will feature two entertainment venues, flexible meeting spaces, round-the-clock dining options, a Body Rock Fitness Center, a 33rd-floor rooftop bar and lounge called “RT60: a Sessions Restaurant & Bar,” and an NYY Steak restaurant. The hotel will also offer a curated collection of playable vinyls and turntables and room service that provides guests with guitars, headphones, an amplifier, and access to lesson content. The establishment will also be pet-friendly and offer animals “sWAG” bags and velvet memory foam beds. The room selection ranges from king and double queen rooms fitted with Sleep-Like-A-Rock luxury linens, a marble bathroom with rain shower, Rock Spa products, floor-to-ceiling windows, a Lavazza espresso machine, and high-speed Wi-Fi. A “Deluxe Balcony” room comes with a private outdoor terrace.
It looks like the Hard Rock Hotel will open sometime closer to the end of the year, or in early 2022 at the very latest.
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Ugly. Just another infill.
Lots of entertainment will be prepared, along with the construction of a building. That is open for service only, cause it’s not an office: Thanks to Michael Young.
Not a bad design, rather sleek and sophisticated, but the base remains to be determined.
They have to clean up the street and the street level of all these Times Square Buildings.
It’s better than the parking garage it replaced.
It’s a pretty solid design. I like how sleek it looks. Very nice.