Construction is nearing completion on 321 West 38th Street, a 26-story Best Western Hotel in Midtown, Manhattan. Designed by Gene Kaufman Architect and developed by 319 West 38th Steel LP, the 250-foot-tall structure will span 44,200 square feet with an undisclosed number of hotel rooms and a collection of amenities. The property stands on two adjoining interior plots between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.
Most of the façade has been installed since our last update in August 2024, when construction had recently topped out and crews were working to frame the reinforced concrete superstructure with metal studs. The following photos show the entire envelope in place on the main southern elevation above the ground floor, which remains blocked off by the sidewalk shed. The bottom four stories consist of the preserved exterior of the two residential structures that formerly occupied the plot, and the four floors above are clad in contrasting black paneling. After the ninth-floor setback, the façade transitions back to red brick up to the flat parapet.
321 West 38th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
321 West 38th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
321 West 38th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
321 West 38th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
321 West 38th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
321 West 38th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
321 West 38th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
321 West 38th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
A cantilevering rectangular balcony hangs from the top floor.
321 West 38th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
Work is still concluding on the upper levels of the rear northern elevation, which will feature balconies on the final two stories.
321 West 38th Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The below Google Street View image details the appearance of the low-rise occupants before they were gutted and incorporated into the new tower.
321 West 38th Street before construction. Image via Google Maps.
The 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal station is two streets north of the hotel, offering convenient access to the A, C, and E trains and NJ Transit buses.
321 West 38th Street’s anticipated completion date is slated for summer 2025, as noted on site.
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I knew this was a Kaufman design before reading the article. That is NOT a compliment!
And I knew that before I read the comments, they would be extremely tough on Kaufman. It’s a little tiresome. Remember this is not a five star hotel located on fifth Avenue. The economics are simply not there for what you would love to have. Kaufman is the right architect for this type of project.
I agree. I don’t deny that Kaufman works a lot of value projects- it’s his niche. Every once in a while he gets to work outside his usual box and he shows more depth than we expect from him.
I do wish the black section was black brick, and I also would have appreciated a solid cornice from side to side above the base to transition to the black section better.
But, the hotel will welcome many people into Manhattan that want to visit and don’t have the funds to stay at the Langham, Peninsula, Ritz, etc.
So, here’s to hoping they enjoy their visits.
Hopefully this will not become a homeless/migrant hotel or supportive housing in the future. I tried to find a hotel room for friends this past week and the migrant hotels have certainly caused a shortage of rooms.
Quite the xenophobic comment. Perhaps if you put down your New York Post and did a thorough search would find lots of availability.
Don’t let the facts get in the way of your politics. The number of hotel rooms in NYC has plummeted in recent years, for the reasons George Richardson has outlined above (also because a deal between the City Council and the hotel unions made building and operating new hotels significantly more expensive). Just because it’s in the Post and it doesn’t fit your narrative doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
Sad that there is no attempt to match the setbacks of either of the neighboring buildings. Don’t know if that’s a zoning issue but would’ve led to a much better building. I think that the black section is just wrong. But this is clearly a budget driven solution.
Being a brand new hotel, it should be available as a regular hotel for several years. What the Post doesn’t tell you about all those migrant hotels you dislike is that many refused to invest in renovations and lost their flags because the hotels no longer met the requirements for major hotel brands. They found a source of revenue that allowed them to stay in business without the investment they didn’t want to make. People found housing.
The fact that Kaufman has been so busy building new hotels suggests new owners are bullish on the hotel business in Manhattan. But poorly managed hotels that fall into disrepair are a dim a dozen, similar to failed restaurants.
The existing building had a fairly standard metal cornice, so one has to ask why it could not have been reconstructed – it’s done quite frequently. I can’t paste a screenshot, but it’s shown in Google maps until 12/2014 The transition from the old facade to the new is jarring and ugly
Was retaining the old building really necessary?
I appreciate the retention of the old building. Wish it happened more
Better than I thought, as Kaufman usually cuts as many corners as possible
What’s the point of having an architect if they are this bad? Can’t the engineer just do it?
So this hotel is not set back like the other new ones because of the existing facade, and that’s great. But the flush facade directly above, with the cornice now missing is just a terrible transition. Then a third building is set back above with some sort of tongue sticking out near the top.
Good gawd, don’t blame Kaufman, blame the A-hole developers who keep handing him new projects. People with money rarely have good taste as this again proves.
unfortunately these are developers who fon’t have money thats why they turn to gene gene the bottom feeder dancing machine.
Best Kaufman building I’ve seen, but that’s damning with faint praise. Worst architect in the city.
WHY IS THIS SO HARD?
I think maybe that ‘surprise’ top floor balcony makes this a bit more interesting, what ya think ?
Guess Gene has to realize everything he “designs” is a SETBACK even before construction starts?
I’ve seen worse 🤔🤷🫢🙈🙉🙊🐒😅, like anyone really gives about rats rump about this “tiny” sliver of hell’s kitchen in the middle of the block on 38th st.🤷, some critiques are so serious, like if THEY were the developers, they would be creating some Parisian inspired masterpiece, or something Unimaginably groundbreaking or revolutionary, transformative & sublime🤣
Why they thought the mutilated base of those two mundane old walkups needed to be saved and hamhandedly incorporporated is completely beyond understanding. Just having that black be the base would have been multiple times better.
umm, i dk about multiple times better lol.
Were the windows of the adjacent building seen to the left in the final picture lost for this building?
Yeppers.