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Is Soho House Opening On The Lower East Side?
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 17, 2013
Modified Jan 17, 2013
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 17, 2013
Modified Jan 17, 2013
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To quote a man who would soon be devoured by a pack of velociraptors: Hold On To Your Butts. According to our source, the posh private club and hotel SoHo House is in talks to open a new location in the Lower East Side on Ludlow Street. The source marked 139-141 Ludlow, the former funeral parlor and chapel, as the location, and said that because of the necessary renovation the space wouldn't open until next year. However, another neighborhood real estate agent indicates that the club could be ready for business as soon as November.
However, a publicist for SoHo House would not confirm any details about the location. "They're always looking for new locations in the New York area, nothing has been agreed on or set in ink yet," Samantha Kain of Syndicate Media Group said.
According to the building's former real estate agent, the property is currently being represented by Alf Naman Real Estate Advisors, a development, brokerage, and consulting company that has built luxury apartments and penthouses in Chelsea and the Upper West Side, and most recently at 515 West 23rd Street, right next to the High Line.
A message left with Naman's office has not yet been returned. A 2008 profile of Naman in Architect's Newspaper perhaps sheds some light on how he'll apply his touch to the Lower East Side:
As well as being savvy in the ways of wheeling and dealing, Naman seems to truly care about maintaining a certain character in West Chelsea—perhaps the quality that marks him most as a maverick among developers. "I've watched how Soho has lost its spirit. I think Soho was great. Now it's just a retail wasteland," he said. He is determined not to see this happen around the High Line. For example, he held off purchasing the property on which HL23 will rise for years because it was a beer wholesaler and provided cheap beer for the neighborhood…At the end of the day, as a developer, you have to be an arbiter of good taste, and that's very personal. To make money is great, but you can do that as an investor."
Wonder what he thinks of Libation?
Tagged
Lower East Side
lower east side douchery
meatpacking hotels
soho house
original
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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