Hotel Complex to Rise on 125th St. in East Harlem

Harlem is about to get plusher.

On Feb. 17, city officials presided over the groundbreaking of Harlem Park, a 660,000-square foot complex at Park Avenue and 125th Street that will house a new Marriott Hotel. In addition to the Marriott, the $236 million development, designed by architect Enrique Norton, will include retail, office, and residential space.

The development is the result of a partnership between the city of New York and Marriott International, Inc. City officials describe the enterprise as a project to revitalize the neighborhood by bringing jobs and commerce to the area. The new complex is adjacent to the Harlem station of the Metro-North railroad.

The primary developer is a group called 1800 Park Ave LLC, but Marriott will also receive funding from the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation. The development corporation, chartered to encourage business development in upper Manhattan, is part of a public program for revitalization, funded in part by federal and state grants.

Hope Knight, chief operating officer of UMEZ Development Corporation, said that she is “very excited” about the structure.

“We think it’s a great project,” she said. “We think it will bring great economic opportunities to the east side of 125th Street.”

Knight said that she was unable to comment further because the development was still in its preliminary stages, and explained that UMEZ is currently waiting for further information from Marriott about how the project will be funded and how it will proceed.

Jim Capel, chief of staff for Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) said the Congressman has long supported the construction of a hotel in the area.

“We need a hotel for the community to expand and have economic growth,” Capel said, noting that there are currently no hotels in the entire neighborhood. He expressed optimism about the prospects for such growth, adding, “We think there should be two or three hotels up here [in Harlem] of high quality.”

For all the anticipated benefits of the development, it has not been extensively promoted in the neighborhood itself, as people who live nearby seem to be largely unaware of the hotel project. Several local storekeepers declined to be interviewed, saying they knew nothing about the development.

One neighborhood resident, who asked not to be named, said she hadn’t known what the development was.

“I thought that was a hospital,” she said. Another, who also declined to be named, raised concerns about putting a hotel next to the noise of the train station.

The site is currently a deserted parking lot surrounded by a fence with a sign that reads “Harlem Park.” So far, there is little indication of construction. But, according to a press release from the mayor’s office, it will soon hold 167,000 square feet of office space, a large retail center, 100 residential units, a health club, a meeting space, and an underground parking garage. The retail center, intended to attract pedestrian traffic, will encircle the complex.

Also according to the press release, the development will create 1,000 permanent jobs in the neighborhood. The hotel has said it is committed to hiring 25 percent of its employees from Harlem, and to hiring minorities as 50 percent of its hourly employees.

The Marriott vice president overseeing the development, Jesse Luis, could not be reached for comment.