Slate Property Group and Breaking Ground have completed the acquisition of the Stewart Hotel at 371 Seventh Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan. The acquisition marks the start of a hotel-to-residential conversion project that will deliver 579 permanently affordable apartments. Slate will lead the development and construction of the project, which will be owned and operated by Breaking Ground upon completion. The initiative is aimed at serving low-income households and formerly homeless individuals. The property is located between West 29th and 30th Streets.
371 Seventh Avenue, courtesy of Slate Property Group.
The development was acquired for $255 million, with total project costs projected at $500 million. Work will be funded through a mix of public and private financing, including New York State’s Housing Our Neighbors With Dignity Act (HONDA), New York City’s 15/15 Supportive Housing Initiative, HDC tax-exempt bonds, and HPD’s Supportive Housing Loan Program. Additional support includes financing from Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, the Low Income Investment Fund, LISC Fund Management, and the Corporation for Supportive Housing. Historic and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and transferable development rights have also been utilized.
371 Seventh Avenue, courtesy of Slate Property Group.
The Stewart Hotel, a 31-story building shuttered since 2022, is anticipated to take around 24 months to complete renovation. Construction will include merging adjacent rooms to create apartments, replacing mechanical systems, installing LED lighting, and building on-site social services offices. Support services for residents, including seniors and formerly homeless individuals, will be provided by Breaking Ground through a partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
371 Seventh Avenue, courtesy of Slate Property Group.
Located across from Penn Station, the Stewart is within walking distance of the 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F, M, N, Q, R, and W trains, along with the Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit.
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
Does this mean this building is now safe from future demolition?
Since the lot was included in the Penn? rezoning plan but sadly not a designated landmark.
Structure wise Definitely! (maybe facade work) it will be gutted on the inside to fit out per requirements and amenities, Maybe new windows and roof retreatment.
otherwise, its no longer “affordable” for anyone….LOL
I can’t get my head around why thus wouldn’t be a desirable candidate to reopen as a renovated hotel. Seems insane to me.
Same thought. Given how high nightly rates are now in Midtown and the effective ban on new hotel construction in the city, you’d think this would be way more valuable to renovate and reopen as a hotel. The only thing I can think of is this kind of got baked in during the COVID-era drawdown in tourism.
Very nice project
If they end up taking Block 00780 for the southern expansion of Penn Station, they have to OFFER comparable(?) accommodation within a certain distance of the displaced address, under Federal Eminent Domain law. This rental building will qualify under the law.
It’s actually located between West 30th and 31st Streets… on the SE corner of W 31st and 7th Ave.
It’s impossible for me not to feel a bit sentimental about this one. I lived in that building for three months in 1979, while training for a job with the federal government. It was called the Southgate Tower in those days.. When I lived there, I got the impression they did a lot of leasing of short term rentals to corporate and other business clients. I am grateful that it will survive in some form. I always make a point of taking a look at it every time I come to New York and exit Penn Station.
This is how you do it. There are so many prewar, out of date hotels, large and small, that can be relatively easily turned into housing. Best of all, this gem should now be saved from demolition.
With new foreign tourist restrictions coming soon, America’s tourism industry will soon be gone. There will be millions of empty hotel rooms ready for new housing.
Why out-of-date? It’s not like the rooms are too small. The rooms in new hotels are small too, likely the same size. Like other commenters, I don’t understand why this couldn’t have been returned into service as a hotel.
Where did the HALF A BILLION DOLLARS come from ?
for that cost, they could buy each future tenant a 4 bedroom house with a pool in the fly over
Sure, but then how would politicians launder $100 million on prevailing union wages?
That used to be the Affinia, amd was among my favorite hotels in NYC. I must have stayed there dozens of times. The rooms varied greatly in size from stay to stay, but I really loved it, and unexpectedly feel a weird, slightly uncomfortable nostalgia about it being gutted. I have stayed there since it’s conversion to the Stewart, and it was still a nice place to stay. Time stops for no man.
HOPEFULY THE CONSIDERED TENANTS WILL TREAT THEIR APT BULIDING WITH THE MOST CLEANLINESS, APPRECIATIVE,THANKFULNESS. NOT DESTROYED IT WITH FILTH LIKE OTHER AFFORDABLE HOUSING BLDGS THAT HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED.👍🤞