Construction at 317-319 West 35th Street Goes Vertical in Midtown, Manhattan

317-319 West 35th Street. Photo by Michael Young

Construction is rising at 317-319 West 35th Street, a 25-story hotel in Midtown’s Garment District. Designed by Peter Poon Architects and developed by Wei Hong Hu under the H Hotel LLC, the 249-foot-tall reinforced concrete structure was last reported to span 59,250 square feet with 166 hotel rooms. The property will also contain 3,399 square feet of commercial space and feature a cellar, sub-cellar, and a basement. Crosscity Construction Corporation is the general contractor for the development, which is located between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.

At the time of our last update in September 2020, demolition had yet to occur on the two low-rise buildings on the site. It looks like parts of the walls and floor plates of these brick buildings were actually repurposed into the new design, as evidenced by the condition of the edges of the lower stories and lot line walls, where the remnants of the red bricks are still visible above the sidewalk scaffolding. New concrete floor slabs now evenly align with each other between the outlines of the old buildings.

The new superstructure above is being built beyond the old roof parapet, which serves as the fifth-floor setback. Construction is approaching the halfway mark and will eventually clear the heights of the abutting eastern and western neighbors.

317-319 West 35th Street. Photo by Michael Young

317-319 West 35th Street. Photo by Michael Young

317-319 West 35th Street. Photo by Michael Young

Here is what the site used to look like in September 2020 before any significant changes began to occur.

317-319 West 35th Street. Photo by Michael Young

No official renderings for the project have been released, though it’s conceivable to see a mix of floor-to-ceiling glass and metal panels like those in Peter Poon Architects’ other hotel designs across New York City. The closest subways to the site are the A, C, and E trains to the north at 34th Street-Penn Station. Hudson Yards is a short walk to the southwest.

A revised completion date is also unclear at the moment, though YIMBY sees 317-319 West 35th Street finishing sometime in late 2022.

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10 Comments on "Construction at 317-319 West 35th Street Goes Vertical in Midtown, Manhattan"

  1. It’s almost like the base should have gone up two more floors…

    • the base is a historical marker of the earlier buildings that were there…..(I am searching for some truth here…..)! Let’s hope it’s a good facade with some thought and care for the detailing……

  2. Complicated site. My understanding is there is currently a stop work order on this project as the ‘historic’ facades were not to be demolished as part of a zoning variance granted by the City for this project. The investors bought the existing residential properties with plans to demolish and build a hotel. However, they ran afoul of zoning which prohibits the demolistion of residential units within this special zoning district. In order to advance this project, gain a variance, the developers agreed to preserve the ‘historic’ street-wall and allocate several floors of the building to residential units (separate entrance, separate elevators, etc). The developer had made the effort and undertaken the expense to preserve the historic facades…and then, unexpectently, removed the facade off the lower floors. This non-compliant action, taken this past year, lead to a work stoppage. Not sure if work has resumed. Of course, this is an over-simplified explanation and there are certainly more complicated issues at play. Unsure where things stand now. While it would be great if they restored the historic facade, not sure where that stands at this point. Thank you YIMBY for your coverage.

    • If it is in fact a “facadectomy” in many cases the facade is removed piece by piece and then “re-hung” on the new structure. Of course you don’t see it much in NY because the city is lax and lazy and hellbent on wasting as much historic fabric as possible so another thoughtless econo-motel can rise. Let’s see if that’s the case here.

    • Very strange…

  3. Even the former boarded up buildings had more architectural interest than this future blight on 35th! 😝

  4. NYY, keep us in the loop on this one… It could get interesting.

  5. Another disaster from Peter Poon Architects and developed by Wei Hong Hu. They destroyed historic buildings to put up another piece of crap glass box that will look like a prison and belongs in a slum in Being or a gulag in Russia.They openly defy NYC agencies with absolutely no consequences.
    Terrible, disgusting and it’s all about Greed, Greed, Greed and the almighty buck.
    Please go back to Hong Gong or China and build prison hotels there.
    Peter Poon, Sam Chang, Gene Kaufman and Wei Hong Hu whoever the hell he is have single handily destroyed much of the fabric and history in NYC neighborhoods.
    These guys should be banned and fined for all of their destruction in NYC.
    What a waste of historic buildings.
    So sad.

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