All things must pass

The one constant in life is change, as the saying goes, and it is a maxim that applies to the hotel sector as much as any other. Just a month after industry pioneer Ian Schrager opened the first property under his new brand, Public, on Manhattan’s Chrystie Street, he saw the place where it all started for him in hotels – and where many would say for the boutique hotel sector  itself – has closed its doors.

Morgans Hotel on Madison Avenue, just a couple of miles north of Public, is to be converted in to tiny apartments, ranging in size from 28 to 30 square metres.

The 1927 building, designed by architect Andrew J Thomas, is being converted by real estate agency Kash Group and investment firm Shel Capital. The companies are are finalising a $41 million deal for the 17-storey, 117-room hotel and will convert it into 90 condos, with hotel rooms or corporate housing spanning three lower floors, and a restaurant at ground level.

Schrager expressed his sadness at the building closing, but he doesn’t strike me as the type to wallow in nostalgia.  But there is no denying that a little bit of our industry’s history will be lost with its passing.