NEW YORK—Anyone walking past 52 West 13 St. at night might pause a moment to admire the flickering gas lamps at the building’s entrance, perhaps wondering who the people were who swept through those elegant old doors here in Greenwich Village so long ago and into the quaint interior.
While seemingly from a bygone era and well ensconced in the Bohemian neighborhood, the classically styled building is new construction and its occupant, The Jade Hotel, officially opened less than three months ago on March 1.
Many developers would cringe if their new-build looked old, but for William Obeid, president/CEO of Gemini Real Estate Advisors, LLC, which owns and manages the The Jade, he couldn’t be more pleased that the deliberate effort to be Old Guard is resonating with the avant garde and locals as well.
“We identified this site in late-2007 and closed on the property in January 2008,” Obeid said, noting Gemini paid $330 per square foot. At the location were two, small mixed-used buildings: each housed a restaurant with a few apartments above it.
Although the site was approved for condominium development, those with a penchant for that real estate model were slowing down in the marketplace, Obeid recalled. “So we were able to swoop in. We bought air rights from neighboring buildings and that’s how we were able to develop a 20-story building in Greenwich Village,” he said.
Expecting to get shovels into dirt in mid- to late-2008, it became a case of swoop and sit for Gemini, which held off on the project as the economic downturn played out. “In February 2010, we were able to see that the market was starting to turn, so that gave us confidence to move forward with this site and we did whatever we could to get the construction loan completed,” said Obeid. Construction began in October 2010 and ran through this past January, with the hotel soft opening in February.
Gemini had considered going the condo route but decided the highest and best use of the space would be a 113-room hotel. “Anytime we look at a potential hotel site, we say: ‘What’s going on in this sub-market?’ The more we studied the Greenwich Village market the more convinced we became that it was way under supplied [with hotel rooms]and that there was great demand for lodging in Greenwich Village.”
With six other hotels in New York City (and one in Boston), Gemini Real Estate Advisors is no stranger to its diverse markets, including a high-profile one like the Village, which Obeid considers “a very special place.”
“We felt a tremendous responsibility to do what we call ‘contextual development.’ To create a vision for the hotel that was really in harmony with the neighborhood, that had a sense of ‘wholeness’ or ‘connectivity’ to the Village, its history, its texture, its architecture. That’s what led us to create The Jade Hotel,” he said.
Concerns were raised in the historic neighborhood as to what kind of hotel it would be. “The neighbors wanted something unique, something special and we were determined to create a hotel that reflected the history, the charm, and really, the magic of Greenwich Village,” he said.
Obeid was able to articulate his vision for The Jade Hotel to well-known New York architect Gene Kaufman of Gwathmey Siegel Kaufman
& Associates Architects, LLF—he previously designed Gemini’s Wyndham Garden Hotel on 24th St.—and design architect Richard Cameron of Atelier & Co. in Brooklyn, NY, who is well known for his knowledge of classical architecture.
The collaboration produced the Georgian-style architecture of the lower facade that is illuminated at night by recessed lighting and features restoration glass, a large semi-circular “lunette” window and a large copper-clad bay window. Once through the entrance doors, guests enter the vestibule and descend into a sunken lobby that features a fireplace, Art Deco-inspired wallcoverings and a display of original works by emerging artists. For the more literary minded, a library cove off the lobby offers classic New York-themed books, including early editions by Village-dwelling authors past and present.
Interior design consultants Andres Escobar & Associates created the Jade’s guestrooms and suites, taking inspiration from 1920s French Deco furniture artisan Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann to produce a luxury experience using a palette of red, blue and gold as dominant tones. Bedframes and desks are made of textured Makassar ebony. A sliding cabinet, inset with an Art Deco pattern, conceals a 37-in., flat-screen television. On bedside tables is a functioning vintage rotary telephone and compact Tivoli audio unit that features a docking cord for mobile devices. Guest bathrooms have black-and-white subway tiles, dual-flush toilets and bath amenities from C.O. Bigelow.
Most rooms offer views of the city north and south, select rooms on higher floors offer a terrace. Second-floor guestrooms feature individual garden terraces separated by a landscaped trellis.
The hotel also offers fiber-optic WiFi throughout, a fully equipped fitness room and energy-efficient and low-noise central air.
The Jade also has a three-meal restaurant and bar, Grape & Vine, operated by Manhattan restaurateur Frederick Lesort. The speakeasy-inspired restaurant offers an artisanal-style menu, signature custom cocktails and healthful juice options.
Obeid said he hopes the restaurant becomes a favorite of local neighborhood residents as well as guests.
Obeid expects the business mix to be 60% leisure, 40% business. The current rate for the hotel is “in the $300s,” he said, noting rate will shift seasonally.
“I have shown the hotel to institutional investors that invest billions of dollars into real estate and they stood across the street looking at the hotel and they were very impressed and they said, ‘Wow. Will, this is an amazing-looking hotel. What was this building before you converted it to a hotel,” said Obeid. “This is ground-up construction; everything is brand new.
“I think through the use of traditional materials—wood, copper, wrought iron, tin ceilings, ceramic tiles—all of these warm materials create this historical feeling, this feeling of inspired nostalgia and comfort,” he continued. “It’s a familiar feeling. I think it’s very approachable and there’s a certain authenticity that people, our guests, are responding to.”
The executive would not speak to the overall project cost other than to comment: “We strive to develop to a 10% cap rate and we’ve achieved that goal here.”
Gemini is known for its GEM Collection of “neighborhood-inspired” hotels that currently encompasses a group of three hotels in New York City’s Chelsea, Midtown and SoHo areas.
With its distinct bow to the Village, Obeid was asked why The Jade wasn’t a GEM.
“The GEM concept that we created is a midscale, neighborhood boutique hotel. It is very edgy and neighborhood-centric. This location demanded a more upscale, upmarket product. That is why we chose to create a new concept with the Jade Hotel brand,” said Obeid.
Toward building a brand and with confidence in the current hotel’s performance (nearing 80% occupancy), Gemini Real Estate Advisors is in development for another new-build Jade Hotel in the Bryant Park market in Midtown Manhattan. The property, which will again draw from its surroundings for design inspiration, is expected to open in 2015.
Obeid felt The Jade would be a good fit for the Gemini portfolio, which also includes in New York a Quality Inn in Midtown and a Comfort Inn in Times Square, as well as a Holiday Inn Express in Boston, MA.
“It certainly will be the most upscale hotel in our portfolio. I believe it is going to set a tone that will be more prevalent within our portfolio of doing more of these upmarket, upscale boutique hotels of this size,” he said.
Gemini also is under construction with a 330-room Crowne Plaza in the JFK (John F. Kennedy International Airport) market. “That is an old Hilton box and it will be open later this year.