Design
Two Roads Hospitality ’ s luxury lifestyle hotel in historic Manhattan space harnesses the spirit of New York .
Contributed by Raini Hamdi
Photos courtesy Bjorn Wallander
What does it take to see an opportunity while others only see “ that abandoned building ”? To turn a long-forgotten space into a place people want to go ? To reimagine a historic address that never was about hospitality into an authentic heritage hotel that also feels relatable for today ?
Within its first 30 days of operation from August 23 , The Beekman , a Thompson Hotel in downtown Manhattan , earned the No . 1 rating on TripAdvisor . The local community and companies in the neighborhood greeted it like the return of the belle of the town . Media headlines included “ This is New York ’ s next iconic hotel ” to the less fawning “ An early skyscraper becomes a hotel with a view .”
At nine stories , 5 Beekman Street was one of the city ’ s first skyscrapers in 1883 , its brick-and-terracotta facade and central atrium among its distinguishing factors . Named Temple Court after the Temple legal district in London , it was essentially an office space and achieved New York City landmark status in 1998 . Since 2000 , however , it had been disused . In 2011 , developer Allen Gross of GFI Capital Resources Group bought it for around US $ 64 million , along with a parcel next door for US $ 22 million , and spent
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