New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-09-14
DOWNTOWN HOTEL PROJECT
THE PLAN NOW BEING AGITATED By a
SYNDICATE

SYNDICATE.
SOME REAL ESTATE MEN THINK 1T CAN Dh '''
rop,y OTHERS ADVISE cAUTIoN-PATRoN-
AGE MUST COME FROM TRANSIENT
rRADE-DIFFIcULTY OF Sc
CURING SITE.
,yrdicate has been formed for the erection or
LARGO boteI downtown in this city The district
In which the hotel is to be built lies between
Chambers and Cortlandt SITS. west OF Broau"aS'
The theory upon which the projectors OF TINS en-
terprise are proceeding u.s. naturally, that such d
hotel as is planned would meet present ana
coming need The hotel would be a large one'
planned on the order of the huge hostieries "hic"
have recently been erected uptown IL "ou'u De
supplied with all the latest modern improve
ments. and above all, the prevailing ldea "ou'u
be to make it moderate in charges to guests III
forts have been made to secure sufficient area LOT
q site in several localities but, 1t is UNDERSTOOD
without success so far.
The field is assuredly an inviting one. The Met
ropoitan and New-York hotels have given way to
business buildings Earles Hotel, when was
famous in it's day the temporary home OF com
mercal travellers and of business men from out OF
town who were here purposes OF trade, proved
out Of place in Canal-st. The Broadway Central
Hotel has taken a part of its patronage the
Astor House stands alone to sustain the require
ments which may be put upon a large hotel down
town 1t is a house rich in memories and famous
in the annals Of hotel life in this city. The time
was when it was modern, when it buzzed with
the busy life Of the choicest of patronage, when,
in reputation, II a kind Of combination Of the
Hotel Waldorf and the Fifth Avenue Hotel. The
hast pIau r,,itt nd
of this and other States.
But the Aston House is no longer modern The
we-appointed cafe the excellent restaurant. the
privileges Of Room No. l are offset for the anti
quated interior, the sombre rooms, the oldtme
furniture the almost musty odors and the gen.
eral air Of gloom which possess the place The
atmosphere of the house is changed, the patron
age is changed. all is changed Politicians may
patronze the bar by day, but they go further up
town by night. They might be loath to sleep
there O. nights, for fear of ghosts. And so the
hotel has mostly commercial travellers, jewel
lers and occasionally other kinds of business men
for patrons. The old Aston House is far, far be-
hind the needs Of the present day in this city.
A FAR-REACHING PROBLEM
The question Of large downtown hotel
therefore, comes naturally to the fore. The prob
lem is far-reaching The question is:
Would it pay" That well-known hotel man.
said to he backed by 4 syndicate is looking for a
site for such hotel Is proof that he and his back
ers have answered the question aflirmatively. To
make the hotel pay involves the question of price
Of land, Of location and Of the kinds and amount
of custom to be obtained. There are some we'll
known real estate men who have thought about
| the problem. Their views vary but they are in
terestng. Here are some of them Alfred f.
Marling. Of II. S. Ely & Co., said Il believe that
good hotel Of the kind with moderate prices
with rooms renting at 81, 81 30 and 81 a day
would pay if erected west of Broadway even in
| West or Washington st. With new neat sweet
and light rooms, such hotel would Ne ar attrac-
tion which would draw large patrobage Com
mercial travellers who are in the city for a short
| time would put up at such a hotel And then
| there are many men who have to do with Fulton
| and Washington markets who would live there
more or less permanently. The hotel should be
| built in good location. but not upon too high
priced and. AS for the Astor House. 1t seems to
have had its day. 1t is passe The restaurant is
| good. but the rooms and furniture are old and
| run down"
William NJ Ryan who, with all his sealing
daring in real estate matters is an extremely
| cautious man. said: This is a question which
| ii would require Solomon to answer. There
are many elements entering :nto the problem.
In the first place. the solution of the question
must revert ultimately to the inquiry. Will such
hotel pay? Light may be shed on that Dues
ton by considering what has been the expert
ence of the past There are only two down
| town hotels left now, the Astor House and the
| Cosmopolitan The others did not pay or they
would not have gone out of existence. AS for
the Astor House, its restaurant and bar are
| important factors in making the hotel pay Its
rooms are rented largely to commercial travN,
lers. The Cosmopolitan is doing well with a.
similar patronage. Now. the question is, VIII
the prices which the Astor House and the Cos
mopolitan obtaining justify the erection Of
large hotel of the modern pattern?
SHOULD BE CONVENIENT TO RAILROADS.
1T is necessary that any large new hotel
downtown should be in a position to command
business itself 1t must have the room trade
| 1t ought, for this purpose, TO be near the ter
minals of the great railroads. Can you get
regular family trade for such hotel? That is
a question. indeed The people who would take
| rooms regularly at such hotel would do so
in order to be near their places of business.
But times have changed in that respect. Bust
ness men do not stay downtown late at night
now to attend 10 their correspondence or to
get off foreign mail. The stenographer and
| typewriter have removed that necessity Such
| work is now done By day Such hotel would
have to be in location where the bar and
| restaurant would be important items. This
means that high-priced land would have to be
taken for the site The hotel to succeed must
| be centrally located
| Another question to be considered is whether
or not such hotel would be benefited by the
Crca for NpNr Xorlx tn
doubtful. to my mind, if a large new downtown
hotel would pay now Still, if a shrewd man
has the daring to attempt it, he might meet
| unbounded success