Construction has reached street level on 36 West 38th Street, a 20-story hotel in Midtown, Manhattan. Designed by Gene Kaufman and developed by Onboard Hospitality LLC, which purchased the property for $19 million in a bankruptcy auction from Gemini Real Estate in 2017, the structure will stand 205 feet tall and yield an undisclosed number of hotel rooms. Omnibuild Construction is the general contractor for the project, which is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, just south of Bryant Park.
Recent photos show the first sections of the reinforced concrete superstructure beginning to rise above the sidewalk fencing. Steel rebar protrudes at the location of the core and columns, and formwork is being assembled in preparation for the pouring of the first level.
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
The updated rendering shows the façade composed of light gray metal paneling surrounding a glass curtain wall. A protruding column covers a portion of the main northern elevation with staggered window arrangement framed by what appears to be wood panels. The tower culminates with a setback followed by a bulkhead lined with two diagonal rows of windows. A metal canopy hangs over the main entrance.
The site is located near a number of subway lines, including the B, D, F, M, and 7 trains at the 42nd Street-Bryant Park station on Sixth Avenue; the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and Shuttle trains at the Times Square-42nd Street station on Seventh Avenue; and the A, C, and E trains at the 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal station on Eighth Avenue.
36 West 38th Street has an anticipated completion date for next summer.
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
I’m calling it now: the final design is going to be a grey and drab version of the rendering. If that’s not the case, then at least this building will be somewhat better than the norm.
Is he the worst living architect in NYC? Every building has some weird pop-out with “zany” colors.
That brown holiday inn stick out is terrible.
Looks like a tacky mess.
what is that brown? OK ugliness
Yet another “setback” for NYC! 🤮
Just hoping for the best. Thanks
Failure.
just when you think GK can’t produce a less organized and non-sensical design, he does it. There are so many ways to produce a decent facade, and this misses the boat in so many ways.
AND, the entrance canopy, taken from the hotel on 26th? st, will be a dark, litter strewn mess filled with Home Depot plant rejects.
Do better Gene.
Another Kaufman blight on the cityscape. I think he enjoys producing hideous designs, as people will talk about their hideousness long after he is gone. Many of these tacky failures will likely be demolished in the 2040s for something better.
Looks like a 90s relic brought back to life
The real travesty here is GK’s practice of breaking the street wall, which exposes the raw walls of adjacent buildings. What an outrageous disregard for the cityscape! He really should be expelled from the AIA.
Hi guys I’m retired and I live with my wife and I’m we are looking
Hope we could get a appointment. Thanks
As soon as I saw the ugly image I knew it was Gene Kaufmann didn’t have to even read the description. How is this guy getting work?