New York, NY
Hartz Mountain Industries
190,000 sf
The Soho Grand was the first high-rise building and the first major hotel to open since the 1880s – not without controversy – in the previously industrial area/arts neighborhood south of Houston Street.
There were problems: Soho’s south end lies in the Canal Street flood plain, where a filled-in canal originally bifurcated Manhattan. To resolve that, the hotel’s piles had to go 180 feet down to reach bedrock. Also, Soho is designated a manufacturing district, and City zoning for manufacturing – also the artists’ workspaces that abounded – required the hotel’s main lobby to be located on the second floor. That constraint created a design opportunity for a grand stair to a generously proportioned reception level one flight up.
Helpern Architects’ trademark triple-height mezzanine lobby and over-scale windows, and penthouse suites with heart-stopping views north to midtown, instantly made the building “one of the most talked-about hotels in New York.” Hotels Magazine named The Soho Grand “Hotel of the Year” in 1997.
Authentic materials – starting with a steel and brass marquee and steel stairs with bottle-glass steps – recall the district’s manufacturing past. The lobby’s contiguous lounge, which stretches the north/south length of the building between its bar and restaurant, functions as a living room for hotel guests and meeting place for the district’s visitors.
The T-shaped footprint that proved to be the most efficient solution for circulation and operational efficiency also yielded the greatest number of rooms. A tall tower like many of the commercial buildings to the south and west, the hotel sets back at the sixth floor to align with the scale of its low-rise neighbors.
Economic swings, not just community opposition and strict zoning, caused Hartz Mountain to consider a variety of uses for its site. Ultimately, they decided on a hotel and agreed to reasonable protection during construction for the fragile adjacent buildings.
Helpern Architects designed another award-winning building for Hartz Mountain: 667 Madison Avenue, at the north end of the midtown business district. The New York Times’ architecture critic considered it the best building in New York City the year it opened.
