New Rochelle City Council Oks New 24-Story TRYP Hotel by Wyndham
John Jordan | July 2, 2019
NEW ROCHELLE— Add another high-rise development to the list of projects under construction or in the pipeline in the Queen City.
The New Rochelle City Council on June 25th approved the development of a 24-story, 225-key globally-branded luxury hotel and event center at 115 Cedar St. When complete, the TRYP Hotel by Wyndham will be the largest hotel constructed in Westchester County in the last 20 years and the first hotel of its kind in the lower Hudson Valley.
“We are excited to redevelop the existing industrial building and create a new, iconic tower,” said D’Wayne Prieto, managing principal of Ward Capital Management, LLC, the developer of the project. “I asked that our architect, Gregory Sharp, design a building that would rival that of any architecturally forward-thinking city in the world. We thank the City of New Rochelle for its receptiveness of our development and approval. We look forward to breaking ground later in the fall.”
Dobbs Ferry-based Ward Capital is a real estate investment and development firm focused on multifamily residential, retail and hotel assets.
Located directly off I-95, the 245,000 square-foot hotel will serve as a gateway into the lower Hudson Valley from New York City. With a full suite of luxury-class amenities, the ultra-modern hotel will offer guests an “urban resort” experience that includes a world-class restaurant and bar, spa facilities, rooftop pool and grill, conference space and ballroom, and 433-car valet parking structure.
In addition to the new construction, the development will preserve and adaptively reuse the historic white-brick building located at the project’s base. The building, which was originally constructed in 1905 and formerly housed the “Don Coqui” restaurant, will be repositioned as a grand lobby and entrance to the hotel.
“Located at one our city’s most prominent gateways, this new development will have a dramatic positive impact on perceptions of New Rochelle, while also adding much-needed hotel space to keep up with growing demand,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. “It is an outstanding example of how the successful execution of our downtown development plan can generate excitement about New Rochelle as a whole.”
The development will also cover extensive offsite improvements to the surrounding neighborhood. These will include the complete redesign and replanting of the islands around the highway exit and a brand-new pedestrian passageway that extends through the downtown. As part of the passageway, the Metro-North underpass will be transformed with new art and lighting.
“Hotels are an important component of the downtown revitalization,” said New Rochelle’s Commissioner of Development Luiz Aragon. “With its boutique feel, resort amenities, and corporate scale, the TRYP Hotel by Wyndham will be unlike anything else in the lower Hudson Valley. As such, it will direct a new wave of regional tourism and corporate spending to New Rochelle’s downtown, supporting local businesses and the overall vitality of the city.”
The hotel is part of a much larger effort to revitalize New Rochelle’s downtown. New Rochelle’s unprecedented redevelopment initiative, which launched in 2015 with the signing of a Master Developer agreement with RXR Realty, allows for more than 12 million square feet of new construction, including up to 2.4 million square feet of prime office space, 1 million square feet of retail, 6,370 housing units, and 1,200 hotel rooms.
This effort is projected to bring an additional 12,000-15,000 new residents to the downtown area when complete. So far, 29 projects—totaling 6 million square feet and more than 4,000 housing units—have been approved, and 11 are already under construction.
Wyndham has a global footprint with approximately 9,000 hotels, in 82 countries, across 29 global brands and no significant presence in Westchester County. TRYP is a unique branded hotel chain within the Wyndham network with locations throughout North and South America, from Miami to Brazil, and throughout Europe and the Middle East, from Belgium to the United Arab Emirates.
Editor, Real Estate In-Depth