This information comes via a new listing at Meridian Retail Leasing for the space at 340 Bowery between Great Jones and Bond. Here are hotel details per a PDF about the ground-floor space being pitched for retail or restaurant use:
The PDF includes renderings of the hotel...338-340 Bowery will undergo a full renovation repositioning itself into an 182-key modern boutique micro hotel inspired by European Luxury train sleeper cabins. The hotel will focus on creating a hub for solo travelers to connect while providing a beautiful, affordable and exceptional experience ...The Bowery Boutique Hotel will have a target demographic of adventurous, curious, global travelers ages 25-40 seeking a shared experience and appreciation for design and culture. The social profile will consist of design-focused and brand-aware young professionals who align their values with the NoHo culture.
And a rendering of the retail...
This 2,200-square-foot retail space has a monthly ask of $27,000.
Some recent history here: In August 2022, a "retail opportunity" banner arrived by the front door. (The Meridian signage arrived early last week.)
There is a lot of history with the Whitehouse, a four-story building that has served as a single-room occupancy hotel dating to 1899.
As we understand, a handful of residents remain here, and their presence has reportedly hindered any new building plans through the years. We hadn't heard anything about the building since late 2018, when Alex Vadukul profiled the artist Sir Shadow, who was one of the six remaining residents of the Whitehouse, in a feature at The New York Times.
As Vadukul noted: "A few residents have died, and buyouts have lured away others. The men who remain in the flophouse have refused these deals. The Whitehouse Hotel's future appears to now hinge on a grim but simple waiting game." (Sources tell us that Sir Shadow no longer lives at this address.)
Ahead of the renovations, the residents were moved to space at 338 Bowery. (We covered this here.)
The building was spruced up in 2011 to appeal to the thrill-seeking backpacking set. (For $45, guests could stay in a tiny room where the walls don't go up to the ceiling... while the long-term residents remained on another floor.)
However, the Whitehouse stopped accepting reservations in September 2014. Plans were previously filed via Sam Chang in 2014 to "convert a 4-story lodging house into a 9-story hotel," according to DOB records. The Renatus Group now owns the property located in the NoHo Historic District.
At its height in 1950, the Whitehouse had 234 "cubicles" for its occupants. Take a tour of the space here.
"boutique micro hotel" - that is hysterically funny!
ReplyDeleteTrendy amenity: Provide postcards for the "guests" to send that say: "Hi, I slept in a Bowery flophouse!"
Whilst the flowery and fanciful description of the hotel is hilarious, the evolution of the Bowery continues.
ReplyDeleteSigh. 20+ years ago, I landed in NYC with no place to stay. I made my way here and was refused a room because I did not have NY ID. This made no sense to me as I was not a NY resident and this was supposed to be a hotel. Anyway, I ended up riding the trains all night and spending some late night hours in the basement of Grand Central which did not have the food court at the time, but did have chairs large enough to sleep in. Feels like a million years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe renderings include many of the same details the old flophouse had, including walls that don't go to the ceiling. This is required by law since none of the bedrooms have windows. Good luck getting people to book this hell hole.
ReplyDeleteThis place is hardly a hellhole and pretty normal accommodations for people who are not Americans. They'll do just fine and be packed March to December. I give it six weeks, Not.
ReplyDeleteI wish they would make some of these hotels -rent stabilized studio apartments so that people who wanna live alone can live somewhere that’s affordable.. I am sure this place will still be 500 a ngt .. even though micro
ReplyDeleteThe White House, the Bowery Mission, Great Jones Alley, and the 3rd Avenue elevated train -- all there in Lionel Rogosin's classic 1957 film, "On the Bowery." Where was the Catholic Worker at that time? On Chrystie Street, I believe -- bulldozed to make room for a new subway line.
ReplyDeleteSo is there a regulatory requirement that is making this a weird hotel and not housing? Must be if they have the incomplete walls?
ReplyDelete@ 12:06. Interestingly the Bowery “flophouses” are rent stabilized — if you’re there for over a month you get protections, which is presumably why some long-term residents have been able to hold on. As far as the “no windows” etc. I just got back from Taiwan and the set-up here is not uncommon for budget accommodations. I expect that is true for other places as well. Back to the Bowery — I thought at one point some non-profits were planning to build a new SRO to provide the sort of cheap, semi-private housing places like the White Palace used to. I wonder what happened to that.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious as to how this 🤔 will play out. The Bowery is still evolving, so the place won't be cheap. It's bad the walls don't talk. There's plenty of stories, I'm sure.
ReplyDelete🎶 guess I’m gonna have to tell ‘em, I ain’t got no cerebellum 🎶
ReplyDeleteNo. Just no. Fn ridiculous.
ReplyDelete