Coming To 28th And Broadway In 2011: The NoMad Hotel



I've become a bit of a regular at Stumptown Coffee housed on the ground floor of The Ace Hotel. They have a full bodied Cafe Americano with a nice bite and a kick that only a black coffee lover like myself can appreciate. Since I have come to admire Stumptown, I find myself at The Ace Hotel, just about any time that I am in the hood. And what a hood it is!

This is an area that really needs a neighborhood name and, perhaps, there should be a contest. I have referred to the area as "Little Lagos" for a while now in honor of the African Immigrants that line Broadway peddling wholesale goods from small shops throughout the area. 28th Street itself was once know as "Tin Pan Alley" as it was the world capital of sheet music from 1885 til sometime during the Great Depression. Now a new hotel will join Ace a block away and they have a suggestion, and it is their namesake, NoMad (For North of Madison Square historic district). While the name may be debatable, the bones of this project are undeniably awesome. The hotel will be located on the southwest corner of 28th and Broadway in a gorgeous and elegant French Renaissance building built in 1903. This should prove to be the perfect canvas for French Contemporary architect and interior designer, Jacques Garcia, to go to work. It is also owned by GFI Development which built the Ace. GFI took the gamble on Ace, which now appears to be paying off handsomely, and now NoMad looks like a far less risky venture. Still the neighborhood is the question mark. Sure, it has a ton of junkie counterfeiters, but, let's face it, you cannot ask for a more central location, and there are plenty of gorgeous buildings on that stretch of Broadway that date to the late 18th and early 19th century which are ripe for redevelopment. Both Ace and NoMad take up sizable lots on 28th and 29th and The Flatiron Hotel should be opening soon on 26th and Broadway. Refreshingly, upscale shops and restaurants are taking the place of eyesores. Perhaps, just maybe, this is the turn that this stretch of Broadway has been begging for for years. Manya Duhoffman, Director of Sales and Marketing for NoMad envisions a Melrose Avenue (L.A) type of stretch with hip and unique shops lining the street. While it has a long way to go, I hope her vision one day becomes reality.

While NoMad was originally scheduled to open in 2009, according to Duhoffmann, numerous factors, including the economy have pushed the date back to sometime in 2011. I guess good things are worth the wait.

In the meantime, how about a new neighborhood name. SoHers (South of Herald Square)? TinBro (hybrid of Tin Can Alley and Broadway)? Eh, maybe NoMad will work afterall!

Comments

  1. It has, and always will, be known as The Weave Packing District

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  2. How about reverting back to the original name for the neighbourhood to the East of Fifth Avenue between 23rd and 33rd - Rosehill (sometimes referred to as Rose Hill) named after the farm that occupied the area prior to development!

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  3. How about MaSquaPaNo? Madison Square Park North. beats NoMad hands down.

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  4. it's been called the wholesale district since at least the early 90s. why would it need a new name? i guess it can't be called the welfare hotel district anymore though.

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  5. i call it bakara market - re black hawk down.

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  6. The historic area north of Madison Square Park is NOMAD. There is no need for a contest. The area has been using this name since the 2001 when the Historic District was established by the City of New York. For those interested, you can see references to the Nomad area in Sanna Feirstein’s book Naming New York: Manhattan Places and How They Got Their Names, published in 2001. The area officially extends from Madison Square Park North to 29th Street and from just west of Broadway to Madison Avenue, although some like Feirsteing define it as including up to 34th Street.

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  7. A NOMAD BAR WITH A PUB VIBE - - It’S really no wonder that rock stars from abroad, like Bono for one, might feel at home in the new Ace Hotel in the neighborhood labeled NoMad (for north of Madison Square Park). Not only are the hotel rooms outfitted with Gibson guitars, turntables and vinyl records, but the Lobby Bar also has a comfy pub feel throughout its vast space, and the adjoining Breslin Bar serves British-inspired cuisine." - - New York Times, March 26, 2010

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  8. IN NOMAD, A BAR WITH A PUB VIBE - - "It's really no wonder that rock stars from abroad, like Bono for one, might feel at home in the new Ace Hotel in the neighborhood labeled NoMad (for north of Madison Square Park). Not only are the hotel rooms outfitted with Gibson guitars, turntables and vinyl records, but the Lobby Bar also has a comfy pub feel throughout its vast space, and the adjoining Breslin Bar serves British-inspired cuisine." - - New York Times, March 26, 2010

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  9. IN NOMAD, A BAR WITH A PUB VIBE - - "It's really no wonder that rock stars from abroad, like Bono for one, might feel at home in the new Ace Hotel in the neighborhood labeled NoMad (for north of Madison Square Park). Not only are the hotel rooms outfitted with Gibson guitars, turntables and vinyl records, but the Lobby Bar also has a comfy pub feel throughout its vast space, and the adjoining Breslin Bar serves British-inspired cuisine." - - New York Times, March 26, 2010

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  10. New York Magazine has recognized the rise of NoMad with a huge article on neighborhood developments: http://nymag.com/realestate/neighborhoods/2010/65365/

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  12. nice photos and this is a nice hotel in this hotel a lot of facility there .we aiso provide a lot of facility the other home

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