New York unveils a $51 billion redevelopment plan for Midtown Manhattan, Standard Hotels shutters its maiden property, and Hospitality Design debuts Partner Spotlight. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
The sun sets on the Standard, Hollywood
The Standard, Hollywood; photo by AdamChandler86/Flickr
A mainstay on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles for more than two decades, the Standard, Hollywood will permanently close its doors today. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Ferrado Group, the building’s holder, raised the lease price in 2019 to an “unsustainable,” rate, particularly amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the hotel was unable to renegotiate. Casual and irreverent, the swanky see-and-be-seen destination, designed by Shawn Hausman, was the first hotel in André Balazs’ franchise of Standard properties. The brand expanded its footprint across the pond for the first time in 2020 with the launch of the Standard London.
Cuomo pitches $51 billion Midtown Manhattan redevelopment
The SOM-designed Moynihan Train Hall; photo by Nicholas Knight, courtesy of Empire State Development
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an ambitious $51 billion redevelopment plan for the Midtown West section of Manhattan. The Architect’s Newspaper reports that the plan was revealed during the governor’s State of the State address as part of a comprehensive $306 billion infrastructure plan—the nation’s largest. Although several aspects of the plan were previously outlined, like the revamp of Penn Station’s Moynihan Train Hall, additional efforts will focus on a handful of other attractions. Cuomo’s proposal includes the eastward expansion of the High Line to link visitors to the newly completed Train Hall while also stretching the linear park further north to traverse the West Side Highway and end at Pier 76. The aforementioned pier is also slated to undergo a transformation into nearly six acres of riverfront parkland.
David Chipperfield Architects to restore historic Belgian hotel
Rendering courtesy of David Chipperfield Architects
David Chipperfield Architects is set to revamp and expand the historic Grand Hotel apartment block in the seaside Belgian resort town of Nieuwpoort. A four-story rooftop extension will crown the former hotel as part of its rebirth, complete with replicas of its original main tower and domes. The UK firm is partnering with Brussels-based Origin Architecture & Engineering to revive the storied destination, which was designed by architect Apollon Lagache in 1924. Upon completion, the refurbished property will comprise 70 apartments across its upper floors in addition to a restored bar and brasserie and retail on the ground floor, Dezeen writes. The hotel, which suffered damage during World War II and was shuttered in 2018, is expected to reopen in time for its 100th anniversary in 2024.
Saudi Arabia plots 100-mile-long linear city
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sand dunes; photo by Gary Cummins
With so much recent hyperloop hype, some nations are thinking in a more linear fashion. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman has proposed a radical new vision for urban futurism in a new video featuring dramatic renderings of a 100-mile-long linear city. Known as the Line, the mega-city would be powered exclusively through renewable energy and aim to preserve 95 percent of the NEOM city-state’s natural wilderness through an underground train system. According to ArchDaily, construction is expected to begin on the Line in the first quarter of 2021. The city is estimated to accommodate one million residents by 2030.
HD launches Partner Spotlight
Samuelson Furniture products mark the Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston
HD also celebrated an inauguration of its own this week, with the launch of Partner Spotlight, a series of video interviews with leading manufacturers. Associate editor Matt Dougherty joins Lawrence Chalfin, president of Paterson, New Jersey-based Samuelson Furniture, in the series’ first video to discuss the evolution of his company and highlight their latest and greatest product offerings. Get to know Chalfin and Samuelson Furniture’s elite legacy here.
