The Conrad New York will make its Manhattan debut in 2011 in the
Financial District, Hotel Chatter reported. The Conrad will take the
place of the Embassy Suites New York, an existing Hilton property at
102 North End Avenue. The hotel renovation is slated for completion by
the fourth-quarter 2011, and will be the first Conrad brand to open in
the city. Rumor has it that the luxury hotel will feature rooms
averaging more than 550 square feet. The Conrad
joins the ranks of several other hotels opening downtown this year, like the Andaz Wall Street
and the W New York Downtown. [Hotel
Chatter]

[more]

From left: before the MTA’s seizure and after, at 194 Broadway (source: PropertyShark)

The New York State Supreme Court has ruled that the MTA must pay the Riese Organization’s legal fees after an eminent domain suit on 194 Broadway was settled. Meanwhile, closings began at the 254 Park Avenue South condo, the former editor of the Architect’s Newspaper was named head of the Institute for Urban Design, and BLT restaurants was named the official restaurant operator for the W New York — Downtown. Click here for more. TRD [more]

The Moinian Group has topped off the new W New York hotel and residential building, at 123 Washington Street between Carlisle and Albany streets near Ground Zero, according to a press release today. The 58-story, 400,000-square-foot building, designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, will include a 217-room W hotel, 223 condo residences, a restaurant, bar, spa and fitness center. The construction has outpaced several other projects in the neighborhood, including the Freedom Tower one block away, which is currently rising above street level. TRD

Architects do more than design shiny new buildings. David Rockwell can vouch for that. His firm, the Rockwell Group — which has designed the Elinor
Bunin-Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center, the W New York and the W
Union Square — has taken a special interest in playgrounds. Working
pro bono, the company, which has an office at 5 Union Square West as well as in Madrid and Dubai, designed
Imagination Playground in Burling Slip, an unstructured free-play play
space in Lower Manhattan, featuring a collection of loose parts like
wheelbarrows, rolling carts and molded foam blocks, meant to encourage
kids to play creatively. The project broke ground this spring. A
portable version, known as “Imagination Playground in a Box,” will be
introduced in other cities around the country. The veteran architect
also acted as production designer for the revamped Academy Awards show
this year. Rockwell spoke with The Real Deal about his firm’s latest projects. [more]