Brooklyn's Progress
April/May 2007

BY A.D. PRUITT

Brooklyn, home to 2.5 million people, is undergoing a cultural and business renaissance and is expected to soon rival Manhattan as a leading tourist destination. And as Brooklyn becomes the hot spot for new businesses, commerce, and upwardly mobile professionals, hoteliers are setting their sites on the borough. In fact, three hotels are set to open in the downtown area within the next two years including a Sheraton Hotel in 2008 and Comfort Inn this spring. Following the completion of a Holiday Inn Express and Days Inn last year, and a $77 million expansion of the Marriott which added 280 additional guest rooms, these new hotels will add roughly 650 more spaces for temporary lodging.

Until recently, the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge was considered the sole premier hotel. But now the new Hotel Le Bleu, which is scheduled to open in April as the first boutique hotel in the borough, is joining that short list. “Brooklyn has so many cross sections and mosaic of cultures,” said Robert Gaeta, general manager of Hotel Le Bleu. “The owner believes Brooklyn offers development opportunities, especially for business,” Mr. Gaeta said. “This is just the start.” Located at 370 Fourth Avenue in the Gowanus area, Hotel Le Bleu, which is designed by Andres Escobar, will feature 48 rooms equipped with 42 inch plasma television screens.

"Hotel development in Brooklyn is one of the most compelling real estate stories. The booming hotel development we've seen in the past few years compliments the expansive residential and burgeoning tourist market in Brooklyn. People are actively seeking out the borough as a place to live and play; with that comes a need for improved retail and tourist amenities," said Cheryl Gladstone, director, real estate & development, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

Adding to Brooklyn’s appeal for increased tourism and business prospects is the 165,000 square-foot hotel and 16 tower luxury condominium building that will be included in the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project. In addition to building a sports arena for the New Jersey Nets as part of the deal, the development project is expected to create thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in state tax revenues.

“A half-dozen developers are thinking of building hotels [in Brooklyn]. They’re all in the planning stages,” said Michael Burke, executive director of policy and strategic planning at Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. Noting the high demand among business travelers and the rise of mixed-use buildings combining retail outlets and housing, Mr. Burke said the burgeoning hotel sector should add 15,000 to 20,000 jobs in Brooklyn over the next ten years as well as pave the way for new goods and services.