Private Members Club & Hotel to Open in NYC’s Meatpacking District

A former dry goods warehouse that is one of the largest buildings in New York City’s Meatpacking District will soon play host to an exclusive private members’ club and hotel from England, reports Christopher Owles, Managing Director at Sinvin Realty, who negotiated the lease for the landlord. The tenant, Soho House New York, has signed a lease for approximately 45,000 square feet on floors three though six, in addition to the roof, at six-story 29 Ninth Avenue. While rents were not disclosed, the landlord had been asking $38 to $42 per sq. ft.While Soho House New York is not scheduled to open until early 2003, advance plans for the trendy resort have already begun to leak out. The club will feature a hotel up to 24 lofty-style bedrooms, a concierge-attended lobby, restaurant and screening room.  James Gross and Wayne Sellers of Williamson Picket Gross represented Soho House in its lease negotiations.29 Ninth Avenue will also feature Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s and partner Phil Suarez’s ground floor restaurant. The proprietor of such eateries as Vong and Jean-Georges has also signed a lease at 29 Ninth Avenue. He is expected to open his 15,000 square feet Asian restaurant, Spice Market, in the building’s ground floor by early 2002, Vitra, the modernist Swiss furniture manufacturer, has taken over 12,000 square feet in the building as well.29 Ninth Avenue is a six-story, 72,000-square foot, turn-of-the-century loft building that sits on the corner of 13th Street. The building is receiving an investment nearly $100 per square foot to transform it into a first-class space with new mechanical systems, a new lobby, two new passenger elevators, new bathrooms and HVAC for each tenant, high-speed Internet services and 24 hour, seven-day access. The renovation includes the enlargement of the exterior windows to flood the building with abundant natural light. Inside, it features classic loft-like architectural elements such as exposed wood beams, brick walls and high celings, Sinvin Realty, exclusive leasing agents have signed leases for 100% of the space at 29 Ninth Avenue.”Despite the deflation of rents city-wide, the meat packing district if one of the few Manhattan neighborhoods that continues to thrive, said Bruce Sinder, president of Sinvin Realty, “Recent leases, openings and planned developments have given the area the critical mass needed to assure its long term growth and expansion”.The owners of 29 Ninth Avenue – a partnership of Charles Blaichman, Joseph Daly, Howard Katz, and Bill Schaffel- are active in other projects.