Hard Rock Announces New Hotel Project In NYC Times Square

Hard Rock International has finally secured a site in New York to build a hotel as it pursues its strategy of ensuring its presence in premier destinations.

Hamish Dodds, the chief executive officer of Hard Rock announced the launch of this new project at an event on the proposed site earlier this week.

The flagship hotel will be located in Times Square in a block previously known as Music Row and is expected to open in the spring of 2019.

Hard Rock’s latest project signals a change in the company’s focus. Dodds said that the company was now going to focus on its hotels and casinos rather than on the chain of 164 café restaurants that it is well known for.

The brand currently has 23 hotels and 11 casinos spread across the world and is now looking to expand further.

In a statement, Dodds said

We’re interested in iconic destinations, we want to focus on really great places.We’ve been trying to get into New York for a long, long time.

The hotel will be constructed on 48th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues on a site owned by Extell Development Co. which is run by Gary Barnett. Extell had purchased the site which had a parking garage on it in December 2014 for $46 million. The garage was situated next to a property that Extell already owned.

The proposed 445-room hotel will have a rooftop lounge for hosting deejays and live music events. An underground speakeasy is also proposed. The hotel does not propose to incorporate the existing Hard Rock Café at 1501 Broadway which will continue to function as a separate entity.

The particulars of the deal between Hard Rock and Extell were not revealed. Barnett is one of New York’s biggest real estate developers and is famous for his sensational projects such as the One57 on W. 57th St.’s Billionaires’ Row.

Hard Rock is looking to expand further in the Northeast region of U.S. Dodds mentioned that the brand is looking for sites in Washington D.C. and in Boston. Hard Rock already has a joint venture in place with Jeff Gural, owner of Meadowlands Racetrack for building a casino-resort in the state of New Jersey. Meadowlands Racetrack is one of the contenders for hosting a casino assuming the state’s voters approve the referendum to allow the expansion of casinos beyond Atlantic City.