Williamsburg Is Getting A Fourth Luxury Hotel
- Photo via Brownstoner
Not a whole lot is really known about the project, but Brownstoner reported yesterday that Williamsburg will soon be home to another (presumably fancy) hotel, this one located on the site of a former gas station at 437 Metropolitan Ave that owners originally purchased for just $253,000 (jesus, I wish I had money to invest in property). The building is set to be a five story, 52-unit structure possibly titled the Union Hotel Park, and, on the heels of news that an even more daunting project is on its way up next to the old Williamsburg Savings Bank, comes as a pretty solid sign that if there’s any major new harbinger of rapid-fire development (other than rent statistics, which are reliably depressing), it’s hotels.
Former owners of the Beatrice Inn are setting up shop in Gowanus a few blocks away from the Union Hotel (geared toward a similar demographic), news broke last week that a “boutique motel” will be open in the Rockaways as early as the 4th of July, and Brownstoner’s write-up even mentions another hotel on the rise around the corner from this new property.
None of which, it should be said, is particularly surprising (or necessarily bad) for any reason other than sheer speed. It’s a pretty obvious, inevitable case of supply being wildly outstripped by demand, and doing its best to catch up, mostly in a neighborhood that’s already been largely remade in the image of the people willing to spend money in it. But if you’re someone who likes to keep close tabs on Williamsburg-as-trend-piece-and-tourist-destination, well, this seems like something to keep an eye on.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.