New Westin hotel wins award.The new, 863-room Westin New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of at Times Square -- developed by the affiliates of Tishman Realty & Construction Co., Inc. -- won New Development Project of the Year award at the second annual America's Lodging Investment Summit. The ALIS ALIS Alberta Learning Information Service ALIS Alternate Lighting of Surface Method (Fujitsu and Hitachi plasma displays) ALIS Access Lines in Service (telecommunications) selection committee dedicated themselves to identifying the most outstanding new construction or conversion project that was completed and opened in 2002. Special consideration was given to projects that are unique, as well as those that posed difficult challenges during the planning and/or construction phase(s). As one of New York City's most complicated real estate development, finance, design, and construction undertakings, the $322-million, 45-story Westin New York at Times Square opened its doors in Oct. 2002 to international critical acclaim. Beyond its captivating cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. design, however, is the story of a development process chronicling an eight-year process, during which numerous obstacles were overcome to bring the project to fruition. The Westin New York at Times Square was chosen for the following reasons: * Breakthrough Design: When the City and State of New York issued their Request For Proposals in 1994 to create the western anchor of the expansive 42nd St. redevelopment -- one of the largest urban renewal projects in New York State -- entertaining architecture was a primary requirement. Tishman Urban Development hired the international architecture firm Arquitectonica and won the competition with a provocative design that communicated the vivacious energy of the Times Square district. The architects designed the 45-story hotel tower with a multicolored glass, prismatic pris·mat·ic also pris·mat·i·cal adj. 1. Of, relating to, resembling, or being a prism. 2. Formed by refraction of light through a prism. Used of a spectrum of light. 3. Brilliantly colored; iridescent. skin, split by a 355-footlong lighted notch that runs the entire height of its 42nd Street facade. At roof level, the arched light form projects beyond the physical bounds of the structure into the Times Square night. The interiors of the hotel reinterpret re·in·ter·pret tr.v. re·in·ter·pret·ed, re·in·ter·pret·ing, re·in·ter·prets To interpret again or anew. re the avant-garde exterior design on a smaller scale. * Complex Public/Private Transaction: Tishman negotiated the ground lease and design guidelines with the City and State of New York to provide for a 99-year term and favorable economics, such as a reduced ground rent, real estate and sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. relief, and excess density. * International Project Financing Project financing A form of asset-based financing in which a firm finances a discrete set of assets on a stand-alone basis. in Difficult Market: The total capitalization Total capitalization The total long-term debt and all types of equity of a company that constitutes its capital structure. total capitalization See capitalization. of the Westin New York is $322.5 million. A consortium of six international lending institutions financed the debt at a time when construction loans were nearly impossible to obtain. The financing was only made possible because of the Tishman sponsorship, the significant amount of equity invested in the project, the real estate tax relief, and the discounted ground rent. * Largest New Hotel Built in NYC NYC abbr. New York City NYC New York City in 17 Years: The Westin New York is the largest ground-up construction of a hotel completed in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. in the past 17 years. * 45-Story Construction on Challenging Site: The Westin New York was built on a 17,500-SF footprint on one of the busiest corners in Midtown Manhattan. The lowrise portion (126 guestrooms) of the 863-room hotel was built on air rights above the existing E Walk building -Tishman Realty's entertainment/retail/restaurant complex below and adjacent to the hotel tower. The original E Walk construction included necessary excess steel to accommodate the future load of these guestrooms. In addition, this lowrise portion of the hotel sits on giant seismic "shock absorbers Shock absorbers See: Circuit breakers " that transfer its weight onto the E Walk structure. * Western Gateway to the Revitalized Times Square District: The Westin New York is the western-most development in the 42nd St. Redevelopment Zone. Along with the colorful signs and entertainment tenants at E Walk, the hotel's distinctive tower and light beam visually represent an iconic beacon in Times Square. * Post 9/11 Opening: The Westin New York was one of the few new hotel openings to follow the events of Sept. 11, 2001. When all of the rooms are open in early 2003, the hotel will create 500 new jobs and another 100 jobs at various vendors (such as valet parking valet parking n. Parking arrangements provided by a commercial establishment, such as a restaurant, whereby patrons leave their cars at the entrance and attendants park and retrieve them. Noun 1. attendants, audio/visual specialists, floral designers, newsstand employees, etc.) for a total of approximately 600 permanent hotel and hotel-related jobs. The project commenced during the height of the region's labor shortage and was completed under budget and as much as four month ahead of schedule. |
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