Elie Hirschfeld Supports Empire Station Redevelopment Plan


Earlier this month, the board of directors of the Empire State Development adopted a new project plan for the Empire Station Complex. This area, which includes eight sites within the Penn Station hub, spans Sixth to Ninth Avenues, from West 30thto West 34thStreets. The new plan will foster high-density redevelopment, and will include retail, hotel, residential, and commercial spaces. The plan is supported by a draft Environmental Impact Statement. 

 

Elie Hirschfeld, who was the owner of Hotel Pennsylvania for 20 years, has voiced his support of the plan, which he believes will help elevate the neighborhood to the elegance of former years. 

 

 “The new 20-million square foot Empire Station Complex Redevelopment Planwill deliver a magnificent new feel and activity to replace the dreary neighborhood that it is now,” Elie Hirschfeldstated. At the center of the development will be a new 1,200 foot tall building called Penn 15, replacing the former Hotel Pennsylvania. Steve Roth, the site’s current owner, took the name from Elie’s original re-naming of the hotel’s commercial component. 

 

When Elie Hirschfeld’s Hotel Pennsylvaniarenovations began in 1980, changes included converting 400,000 excess square footage into rentable commercial space, bringing in prime retail, restaurants, Bally Health Club, an American Language School, an Olympic pool, and more. Elie sees the new plan as an opportunity to bring life back to Midtown. 

 

The original Hotel Pennsylvania was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, designed by the great architects McKim Mead & White, who also designed the original Penn Station. 

 

“It was amongst the world’s largest and most luxurious hotels,” Elie noted. “And the new plan for the neighborhood is terrific, beautiful and functional.” 

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