Construction is complete on the Best Western Premiere Empire State Hotel, a 22-story structure at 16 East 30th Street in NoMad. Designed by Brooklyn-based firm Baobab Architects and NAA, the relatively slim 37,000-square-foot structure stands 225 feet tall and yields 102 rooms between Madison and Fifth Avenues.
Since our last update in March, the final touches have concluded and the property has opened for business. Recent photos show the finished look of the reinforced concrete edifice, which features a sleek glass curtain wall on main northern façade and flat southern profile.
16 East 30th Street. Photo by Michael Young
16 East 30th Street. Photo by Michael Young
16 East 30th Street. Photo by Michael Young
16 East 30th Street. Photo by Michael Young
A glass and metal canopy protrudes over the steps and ADA-accessible ramp that lead down to the main entrance and lobby of the hotel. Sidewalk scaffolding of the adjacent western building partially covers the front of the Best Western Premiere Empire State Hotel.
16 East 30th Street. Photo by Michael Young
The lobby uses a mix a wood, stone, and ceramic materials.
16 East 30th Street. Photo by Michael Young
Below is a photograph looking at the finished back side of the hotel from East 29th Street and The Church of The Transfiguration. 16 East 30th street is wedged next to a multi-story parking garage and stands adjacent to the base of Sky House, a slender residential skyscraper that was completed in 2008.
16 East 30th Street. Photo by Michael Young
The upper floors of the edifice features a mix of sloped glass walls and stepped setbacks that serve as outdoor terraces for select number of hotel rooms. Construction quietly and gradually progressed since last year, primarily on the first level with the remaining interiors working toward the finish line. The Best Western Premiere Empire State Hotel comes with seven specially built guest rooms with accompanying bathrooms that also comply with ADA guidelines and equipment such as wider doors, walk-in showers with safety shower bars, lowered vanity areas, overall wheelchair accessibility, bathtub seating, and grab bars.
The hotel is a short walk from Madison Square Park and the iconic Flatiron Building, and is not far from the local 6 train at the 33rd Street station on Park Avenue and the R and W trains on Broadway and West 28th Street. Other nearby places of interest include the Empire State Building to the north along 34th Street and Eataly Flatiron NYC at the crossroads of Fifth Avenue and Broadway.
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I think it’s a very mediocre building. It looks cheap and lifeless.
Agree. Also, could the name of the hotel be any further from what it actually is? Best Western? Who actually stays at these?
Who do you think?
People and families on a real budget. Which is fine. Budget hotels doesnt have to equal ugly architecture though. NY DOB makes it much harder than it needs to be to build a good looking econohotel and that starts with the visually objectionable setback requirement which degrades the design right out of the gate.
NYC suffers yet another
“SETBACK”…
worse than the COVID shutdowns!
☹
Where.
To.
Begin?
To begin, the architect should be taken to task for doing a worse job than the garage as a backdrop to the charming landmarked church. Maybe re- sit for the design exam after two semesters of RAMS NY 1900-1930 courses. It’s a pity as it doesn’t take a lot of talent to design something responsibly…..or maybe it does
Unattractive from nearly every angle.