Hell’s Kitchen’s Hudson Hotel to be Converted into Communal Apartment Building
A defunct hotel in Hell’s Kitchen will soon be converted into a 438-unit apartment building. Like many hotels in the neighborhood, the former Hudson Hotel didn’t survive the pandemic. Now, developers are poised to convert the historic structure into a communal apartment building offering below-market-rate rents.
Built in 1928 at the corner of West 58th Street and 9th Avenue, the original building was funded by philanthropist Anne Morgan – daughter of billionaire J.P. Morgan – to house the local chapter of the American Women’s Association, or AWA. Designed to provide a haven for single women living independently in the city, the facility featured a clubhouse where women could socialize and dozens of safe, affordable housing units.
When the AWA went bankrupt in 1941, the property changed hands, turning into the Henry Hudson Hotel. A co-ed residential building, the hotel provided affordable, short-term housing for men and women. During World War II, the hotel housed Dutch soldiers. Years later, part of the structure housed the original WNET public television station, where the first tapings of The Daily Show were filmed during the 1990s.
In 1997, the building was purchased by the Morgan Hotel Group. The firm invested millions, converting it into The Hudson. The elegant renovation was handled by luminaries of the design world, including Ian Schrager of Studio 54 fame and French industrial designer Philippe Starck. In short order, the hotel became a local landmark. It was also frequently used as a filming location for popular TV shows like Gossip Girl.
The Hudson was open and thriving when the pandemic struck in the early spring of 2020. Once Covid hit the city in earnest, the hotel offered accommodations for first responders. In April 2020, The Hudson partnered with the Intercontinental Times Square, offering more than 800 free rooms for out-of-state healthcare workers who had come to the area to assist during the pandemic. The hotel also donated numerous supplies to the cause, including hand sanitizer, N95 masks, disinfectant and latex gloves.
Like many hotels in the immediate area, The Hudson closed for good during the pandemic. By the fall of 2020, it had shut its doors for good. In early 2022, CSC Coliving, a co-living development firm, bought the 24-story hotel for $207 million from the previous owners, Eldridge Industries. Almost immediately, CSC announced that it would be reformatting the former hotel into a 438-unit communal apartment building.
The former hotel will feature studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. These units will be available at 20% below the prevailing market rate, making them significantly more affordable in a neighborhood where rent prices have been climbing for months. The design holds true to CSC Coliving’s typical style, featuring amenity-rich offerings to residents who are willing to share space to save cash. Each resident has their own private room, but common spaces are shared.
By renting a unit at the upcoming building in Hell’s Kitchen, New Yorkers can enjoy the savings of having roommates while still enjoying the autonomy of having their own space. The building won’t be the first of its kind in the neighborhood. At West 46th Street and 10th Avenue, the Hell’s Kitchen House from Outpost offers communal-style living in a modern, eco-friendly building.
CSC Coliving is no stranger to the area, either. The firm previously scooped up three buildings on 10th Avenue between West 45th and West 46th Streets. According to CSC, the structures at 640, 642 and 644 10th Avenue suffered from a litany of issues, including squatters, low occupancy rates, rent-stabilized and -controlled tenants and below-par retail spaces. CSC Coliving will likely convert these structures into additional types of communal housing.
With so many hotels sitting vacant in Hell’s Kitchen and across the city, housing advocates have been pushing to convert many of them into shelters. Prime candidates include the Hudson River Hotel and the Paramount Hotel, both in Midtown. However, plans to convert the latter have been shuttered for good.
Work has begun on converting the former 866-key hotel into an apartment building. The new structure will occupy around 385,000 square feet, including 30,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and 25,000 square feet of office space. Units in the building will range from studios to three-bedroom apartments, and they will include high-end touches like hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops and in-unit washers and dryers.
Thus far, no information has been released regarding the types of amenities that will be offered at the new communal apartment development. However, the property will most likely offer perks like an on-site fitness center, on-site parking, on-site grocery stores and other shops. With its proximity to many public transportation options, the building will attract a lot of attention. Construction is expected to wrap up in 2023, but leasing should start sometime before then.