January 09, 2006

A year after groundbreaking, Harlem's Marriott idles

Nearly a year ago Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg showed up at Park Avenue and East 125th Street for the groundbreaking of what was going to be Harlem's first new hotel in 40 years.

And although the hotel, a 204-room Marriott, was supposed to open a month ago, nothing has happened since those first shovels hit the ground, according to Crain's. Except that they struck oil - and not in a good way.

An executive with the developer, Majic Development Group, told Crain's the site is contaminated and it's taken a long time to get a clean-up plan approved. However, at least one investor, music mogul Kevin Liles, has left the project and business leaders in the neighborhood are hoping a new developer will take over the project and get it back on track.

The $236 million mixed-use project, called Harlem Park, calls for 600,000 square feet of commercial and residential space in addition to the hotel.

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Posted by Amy at January 9, 2006 10:37 AM

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