Moinian’s 54th Street hotel to rise even higher

Midtown’s Community Board 5 approved an air rights transfer that will allow a Moinian Group affiliate’s new West Side hotel to rise higher than expected, DNAinfo reported.

The Moinian Group, run by Joseph Moinian, conveyed its interests in the land at 237 West 54th Street, a Midtown lot for which Moinian has filed plans for a hotel, to a new anonymous joint venture last month. The new, controlling members of the venture have provided financing.

The board voted in favor of allowing the joint venture to purchase 24,000 square feet of Development Rights From The Booth Theater On West 45th Street, making way for a 34-story, 400-room hotel on the site, DNAinfo said.

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In exchange for the air rights, the developer will donate $360,000 to $425,000 to the Theatre Subdistrict Fund, an organization which helps preserve theaters around Midtown.

The City Planning Commission has given the community 60 days to weigh in on the application, which has drawn some criticism from neighbors. [DNAinfo]