To be perfectly honest, the final result was quite unexpected—it actually left me a bit stunned. Regarding the hotel itself, it’s slated to be a four-star establishment, which aligns with what the developer originally signaled. However, I’m still struggling to wrap my head around the logistics regarding the parking situation. Apparently, this 27-story building is only providing 190 underground parking spaces. I guess we'll just have to see how that works out in practice.
City Hall told us the investor was on the hook for 150 parking spaces, and apparently, they managed to secure 190. But, just to clarify the math here—because things rarely seem that straightforward—the investor was only required to provide spots for the residential units themselves. And since there are 214 of those units (comprising 210 rooms and 4 apartments), I guess we’re looking at a bit of a discrepancy in how these requirements are being interpreted.
Since we’re looking at a four-star hotel here, the Department of City Planning requirements dictate that we need to provide 0.7 parking spaces for every guest room. Based on those numbers, we should be looking at roughly 150 spots. However, the developer has actually secured 190. But here is the real kicker—or the shocker, if you will—those parking spaces are designated exclusively for just ten floors of guest rooms, specifically from the 17th through the 27th. I guess we'll see how that works out.
And what about the spaces up to the 17th floor? Absolutely nothing. Apparently, there’s zero requirement for the developer to provide any parking spots for them. I honestly find it hard to wrap my head around how that's even possible. According to the Department of City Planning, it's required; the folks over at the White House claim it's required; and yet, the developer insists it isn't. It's all very confusing, I guess.
Based on the usage table, the layout seems fairly straightforward, if a bit predictable. You've got the hotel lobby on the ground floor, followed by a restaurant and kitchen on the first floor. Moving up to the second, the space is designated for convention halls and meeting rooms. From the third through the 15th floors, the building is categorized as a "hotel business center," which I assume means each of those levels houses meeting rooms along with their supporting facilities. The 16th floor is set aside for wellness and fitness amenities, and finally, from the 17th to the 27th floors, you have the guest rooms—for which, as we've already noted, parking has been secured.
I mean, what exactly is the deal with the parking situation for these commercial spaces that investors have been promising us? Ever since Elon Musk backed out of leasing space in the Empire State Building, things have gotten a bit messy. Josip Komar apparently claimed that companies should have already secured their leases, and he’s suggesting he took a hit because the permits weren't issued on time. It's all a bit complicated, I guess.
He’s gone on record multiple times claiming that this tower will create a thousand new jobs. That sounds great on paper, I suppose, but it raises some pretty glaring logistical questions. For starters, where exactly is everyone supposed to park? I mean, even if you account for cyclists, the math just doesn't seem to add up. How many extra buses would the city transit authority actually need to deploy to handle the influx? It seems a bit optimistic to assume everyone is just going to jump on a bus or a train, though I guess that’s the dream.
So, I’ve been looking at the numbers for the Empire State Building project, and I have to say, the math just isn't mathing. If we are looking at a 27-story tower where only 190 parking spaces have been allocated in total, we run into a bit of a logistical headache. Those spots are apparently all earmarked for the ten floors dedicated to the four-star hotel. That leaves me wondering: where exactly are the employees from the various corporate firms planning to park once they lease office space in the building? It seems like a bit of a gap in the planning, doesn't it?
In other words, how exactly did they manage to issue a building permit—or even an amendment to one—when they haven't accounted for a single required parking space for any of the sixteen floors preceding the actual hotel units? It seems like a massive oversight, I guess.
We reached out to Teo Vojković with a few questions regarding his role at the Department of Urban Planning and Construction.
According to the approved building permits, the floors leading up to the 17th level aren't actually designated as standalone commercial office spaces. Instead, they are classified as integral parts of the hotel—essentially auxiliary amenities meant to support the main facility. Since the Department of City Planning determines parking requirements for a hotel based strictly on its guest room count and specific category rating, the current calculations seem to hold up. According to Teo Vojković, the fact that the project calls for 150 spaces while providing 190 is entirely consistent with the Department of City Planning’s regulations. I guess, if you follow the math provided by the project itself, everything aligns perfectly with the local zoning rules.
It isn't exactly within the remit of this Department of Urban Planning and Construction to speculate on how a building will be utilized once we have already issued the necessary construction and occupancy permits. I suppose it would be a bit of a stretch to suggest they should be vetting future tenants based solely on news reports or various other hearsay. Furthermore, it seems unnecessary to raise questions regarding how major corporations and their thousands of employees will manage their daily operations within spaces that have been officially permitted for use as a hotel, the department head explained.
Teo Vojković points out that the authority to approve business operations within a new construction project doesn't actually lie with city officials. Instead, it falls under County authorities—or, in the specific case of a hotel, the Department of Tourism.
"I suppose it would be logical if the Department of Tourism actually cross-referenced the data from building and occupancy permits when they go about issuing decisions for new businesses," the department head notes.
"But then again, who are we to tell Federal Departments how to do their jobs? In San Francisco, we've already learned that you can run a hotel in a building that was specifically permitted for healthcare use. Or even in office spaces. It’s quite a system," the department head concludes, with a hint of irony. |
