Photo Courtesy OF Bruce Buck Photography

The team performed multiple renovations as the New York Palace Hotel remained fully operational. The newest additions were inspired by the latest trends in hotel lobby renovations.

Work included renovating the main lobby and reception area, entryways, several other lobbies and a cafeteria. The team also performed a 6,000-sq-ft fit-out for renowned chef Michel Richard, which consisted of a full kitchen, a 100-seat French bistro dining area and a 46-seat dining space.

Features included more than 10,000 sq ft of stone of varying types, sourced directly from Italy and Spain, which were used throughout several of the renovated spaces. The team even traveled to Italy to hand-select the marble used in the lobby renovation and to manage the fabrication. Each piece of stone arrived in wooden crates and had to be pieced together like a puzzle to create an intricate design for the new lobby floor.

To minimize its impact on guests, the team continually changed the work barricades during overnight hours so it could work on different parts of the space. It worked with hotel operations to ensure that work was planned well in advance and phased meticulously to impact guests as little as possible. Part of this plan included the observation of "quiet" days.

The team also implemented a safety program early on that began with selecting subcontractors based on their past histories. Before subs were on site, they met to discuss the overall scope of the project and identify high-risk tasks.

The 90,000-hour project, which had zero OSHA recordable incidents and no lost-time accidents, drew the attention of judges with one calling the safety program "well-defined and implemented."

Another noted the team's good management of the fabrication of stone pieces, which required a particular expertise.

Key Players

Owner Northwood Hospitality

General Contractor Shawmut Design and Construction

Lead Designer & Tavern on 51 and Rarities Designer BBG-BBGM

Main Lobby, Lobby Lounge and Trouble's Trust Designer Champalimaud

Villard Michael Richard and Pomme Palais Designer Jeffrey Beers International

Towers Lobby Designer BAMO

Owner's Project Manager The John Hardy Group