Martinique Hotel Gets a New Masterplan Design

We are very excited to announce that partner John Field’s masterplan design for the Martinique Hotel was approved at the Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing of May 2, 2023. Located at the corner of 32nd Street and Broadway overlooking Greeley Square in midtown Manhattan, this 531-key hotel has been an individual designated landmark for a quarter of a century. Designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh, who also designed the original Waldorf and Astoria Hotels as well as the Plaza, the Martinique Hotel was constructed in three distinct phases from 1898 to 1911.

The nineteen-story Beaux-Arts-inspired French Renaissance-style building has been long-neglected, with decades of deleterious renovations. Once used by New York City for the unhoused, the facade has been draped in scaffolding for as long as anyone can remember.

Rescued by Burnett Equities, who purchased the closed hotel during Covid, the building is now operated as the Martinique New York on Broadway, Curio Collection by Hilton, and is positioning to become the jewel of the neighborhood with seven new retail leases for premier dining and retail tenants.

Building Studio Architects worked closely with ownership and the Commission staff to develop this exterior facade master plan and improve the street and retail facades of the first two floors of the building. The richly detailed facade incorporates limestone, granite, brick, terracotta and cast metal ornament, much of which had been stripped from the lower floors over the decades. Since the building fronts on three streets, each built as a different phase, they all have unique character. Our design interprets and restores numerous distinctive design elements that have been lost over the years:

* A new marquee over the hotel entrance on 32nd Street in the spirit of the original, including details from the long-gone historic marquee and stamped metal detailing from the original manufacturer;

* New fan-arch topped metal windows reminiscent of the original design, cleverly mask louvers and mechanicals for existing modern ventilation systems along with stone restoration on all facades;

* New retail facades and entrances incorporating appropriate signage and aluminum framing with wood bulkheads and doors for the upgraded tenants and restaurants along 33rd Street, Broadway, and 32nd Street.

* New GFRC columns on the Broadway facade recall original Tuscan columns that were removed long before designation;

* New vertical illuminated signs on the primary facades of the building replace existing monumental sign boxes and recall the historic signs from the rich history of Vaudeville and Theatre in the neighborhood;

* New facade and accent lighting to highlight the architectural detailing on the building’s facades;

The Landmarks Preservation Commissioners found the project appropriate, “it’s a great piece of architecture, which is now being restored and reimagined in good hands,” “The applicant has done a phenomenal job in bringing back the historical features including the fan arch windows and evocative marquee… it’s excellent.” The masterplan also met with the endorsement of the Historic Districts Council, the Victorian Society of New York, and Manhattan Community Board 5. The restoration of this exuberant building will enrich Greeley Square and the city at large.

Renderings by Stasis3D