Gary Barnett is reportedly bringing the Hard Rock Hotel to New York City.
The popular theme restaurant, hotel and casino operator plans to announce its first Northeast hotel next week – a Manhattan location that reportedly will be in partnership with the Extell Development chief.
It may very well go up at a Midtown West assemblage that Barnett has been putting together for some time now. The properties are located along Eighth Avenue, between West 45th and West 46th streets, and include a garage that Extell acquired for nearly $46 million last year, according to Crain’s.
But the hotel could also rise at other Extell properties, including a development site at 1710 Broadway in Times Square that could accommodate a supertall tower. Hard Rock has been eyeing a Times Square location for the hotel for a number of years, Crain’s reports, as it already operates a restaurant in the Midtown tourism hotspot.
A Hard Rock Hotel would not be Barnett’s first Times Square hotel development. He built a W Hotel at 1567 Broadway, at West 47th Street, in the early 2000s.
Hard Rock, meanwhile, is also trying to secure approvals for a planned $1 billion casino in the Meadowlands, which has met opposition from New Jersey officials. [Crain’s] – Rey Mashayekhi