Landmark Grand Hyatt New York to Be Demolished
Scott Dylan March 01, 2019
The famous Grand Hyatt New York will be demolished. That means that the days of spending time at the hotel’s iconic sidewalk bar on East 42nd Street or catching reflections of the busy city in the hotel’s famous mirrored-glass facade will soon be gone for good. A new construction consisting of a skyscraper-height tower, office space, retail space and a new Hyatt property will be put in its place. This comes as sad news for the many New Yorkers and guests who love the historic Grand Hyatt New York.
The structure has been a landmark since it opened its doors back in 1918 under the title of the Commodore Hotel. It was redeveloped and rebranded by Donald Trump as the Grand Hyatt in 1980. The property is actually famous for being the first major Manhattan development project completed by Donald Trump. However, Trump no longer has any connection to the property. Hyatt actually purchased Trump’s share of the property back in 1996.
The hotel will remain open until 2020. However, no exact closing date has been set yet. That’s mostly because the new plan for the property isn’t a done deal yet. The redevelopment project still needs to gain approval on both the city level and the state level. There isn’t any confirmation regarding which retail stores or businesses may occupy the retail and office portions of the new Hyatt property in Manhattan.
A project like the one that is planned for the site of the Grand Hyatt wouldn’t have been possible just a few years ago. Recent zoning changes in the streets surrounding Grand Central Station have opened up the possibility of building skyscrapers in this portion of East Midtown for the first time. Developers are hoping that the revamped Grand Hyatt New York site will become a high-profile landmark in the city’s skyline. This isn’t the only skyscraper going up in the neighborhood. The massive One Vanderbilt skyscraper project is already being constructed on the other side of New York’s Grand Central Station.
[Source: Grand Hyatt New York]
good ridance
i actually like this Grand Hyatt. Granted the lobby is way too small and the management (at least a year or two ago) left much to be desired, but the heated bathroom floors, rooftop bar, visible security and ideal location made this as a viable accommodation while in Manhattan. Even still, as Pablo Picasso said, “Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” Maybe we will this manifested in a better, nicer property in a few years.
The Grand Hyatt was a dump
ocasio - cukoo will say she does not like the plans.