Construction is continuing to rise on 150 West 48th Street, a 330-foot tall, 38-story Hilton hotel in Times Square. Designed by Gene Kaufman Architect and developed by Sam Chang of McSam Hotel Group, the 320,000-square-foot structure will yield 1,048 hotel rooms, up from the previous reported count of 974, making it the ninth-largest hotel in New York City. McSam Hotel Group purchased the site from Rockefeller Group in early 2019 for $140 million, and received a $250 million construction loan before work broke ground in 2020. Omnibuild is in charge of constructing the hotel.
Photographs show the significant progress since our last update in early January, when the reinforced concrete superstructure had just surpassed the roof heights of the surrounding low-rise buildings. Since that time, the edifice has risen more than halfway to its pinnacle, and work has begun on the façade along the main northern elevation. We can see a mix of dark-colored brick masonry walls between the grid of windows, and metal paneling along one of the multiple corners that will divide the fenestration into three distinct sets of materials and colors. This can be seen in the main rendering above, where a light cream, brown, and black color palette runs up the full height of the building. A wide canopy will cantilever over the sidewalks and front doors.
150 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
150 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
150 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
150 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
150 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
150 West 48th Street. Photo by Michael Young
It shouldn’t take too long before construction tops out, perhaps sometime in the next couple months. The repetitive shape of each floor plate and set of inner and outer columns and walls is one big factor helping to speed the pace of work.
150 West 48th Street is the largest hotel by room count to come to New York City in 36 years, and is estimated to be completed sometime in early 2022.
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There are many colors, which makes you know that crews are not finished yet: Thanks to Michael Young.
Exactly
So what happens if tourism doesn’t rebound..
Maybe they should file to sell hotel rooms as condo ownership.
Or demolish it? ?
I wouldn’t think that tourism will ever rebound to what it was a few years ago with so many problems in the city. Some cities are just renting the vacant hotel rooms and filling with homeless people.
Do you really believe what you are saying?
It’s amazing how economically ignorant people are about the real estate industry on this site…
With a straight face, they describe the city from I Am Legend as reality.
What an atrocity. 39 floors at 330′ – looks like we have a new recordholder for miserably crammed accommodations. Just when you thought Kaufman and McSam couldn’t set the bar any lower, they literally did.
I think it’s going to be a prison, similar to the one in Chicago. The problem is, the one in Chicago is actually somewhat nice! ?
When you hear Gene Kaufman is behind a milestone like this, you’re only left to laugh out loud. And boy is it UGLY. It’s already bad enough that the building is covered in a multitude of different colored protection films and what not. But then for the final result, the brick and windows look horrendous. And, I can already notice the very depressive concrete wall that won’t receive much good attention. Man, this is and will be a big mess…
Well he certainly managed to set a new low with this piece of garbage. Why would any tourist or business traveler choose to stay at such a place when there are so many other better choices in that price range and general vicinity?
As for the gloom and doom folks, enough with the homeless hotel gaslighting.
What a mess. How depressing.
Nothing more needs to be said about this “visual travesty”, other than the nearby Luggage store offering up to 70% off!, gives you a “clue” as to the level of clientele this hotel will attract!
Prostitutes
Crack Heads
Homeless
Mentally ill carrying hammers ?
“Tourists” who live in a single wide from the “flat” states.
C-level “actresses” trying to get an audition on Broadway.
College students looking to
“PARTY” bro!
And Republicans trying to hide their trysts, or drug issues!
Afterall, it’s near Times Square! ?
I’m 72 y/o. You are right. It doesn’t even do justice to the old Times Square of the 50s, 60s and 70s. This building is the bottom of the barrel.
I can see this a couple blocks away from my building. It will be fully surrounded by other buildings.
Add kitchenettes, and this indeed would make a wonderful new home for one thousand very poor New Yorkers in need.
Best thing about this building is its location on a side street, where it will be more difficult to see in its entirety.
cant believe they let this thing be built. this is NY it looks like something that belongs in a third world country
Plz include cross streets in your intro paragraph. Thank you.
OK, I don’t understand this. Does this Gene Kaufman ever read AND understand what others are saying about his designs? Ever? I would feel crushed and horribly embarrassed by the things people say over and over. I keep seeing the criticisms, all justified, in this column and I don’t understand why things don’t change in the Kaufman architecture office, i.e. become better from a design perspective. How much longer can this continue?
I’ve asked myself that many times, and the answer is that McSam pays him handsomely to keep churning out this trash. I guess soulless value engineering is quite lucrative.
More stringent quality standards need to exist for buildings of this size/height! It won’t age well.
“won’t age well!??!!” It wasn’t conceived well, and was still-born.
Gene Kaufman needs to have his license revoked. He has done so much damage to the city with his incompetence. Charley Gwathmey must be spinning in his grave.
And he claims he was “educated” at Cornell. Well, then perhaps all New Yorkers should join in a class action to sue Cornell for malpractice.