(All Photography: Ossip van Duivenbode)
by Ron Bernthal
The Radio Hotel, which opened in early 2022, is in the heart of Washington Heights, connecting Manhattan, the Bronx and New Jersey. The 23-story hotel is a colorful new building which will strengthen an already vibrant neighborhood. Each of the 221 rooms will feature wall to wall windows offering a variety of views. The hotels inviting entrance opens its doors to an oasis of public space, including an outdoor courtyard and rooftop event space.
Designed by MVRDV Architects for developer Youngwoo & Associates, with hospitality-focused architecture and interior design firm Stonehill Taylor as the architect of record, the design approach for the Radio Hotel & Tower project creates a vertical village so that the building does not overwhelm the surroundings, as is so often the case when individual buildings are larger than their neighbors’ buildings. The stacked shape of colorful blocks has the added benefit of providing multiple outdoor terraces, with every block having its own outdoor space on the roof of the block below.
The building’s bright colors are a further nod to this part of the city, referencing the shopfronts of the vibrant neighborhood. The brightest colors – bright green, yellow, blue, red, and orange – are found on the upper blocks, while more muted colors – plum, teal, and grey-brown – greet visitors at street level.
“Washington Heights has a unique and exciting character, very different from the other Manhattan neighborhoods further south,” said MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “The design of Radio Hotel and Tower was inspired by that character, we took the smaller blocks that are typical in the neighborhood and stacked them into a vertical village. Add to that the bright colors that you see all around the area, and the project is like a beacon celebrating this part of the city.”
Inside, the Radio Hotel will serve as an important hub for those travelling for conferences hosted by Yeshiva University and the New York Presbyterian Hospital, both of which are located nearby. The hotel’s interior design by Workshop APD takes the exterior as its inspiration, matching the brightly-colored bathrooms to the colors of the blocks. In addition, the building includes ground-level retail, and over 172,000 square-feet of office space. On the 12th floor, in the blue block, is Above The Heights, a dedicated event space suitable for everything from weddings and reunions to bar mitzvahs and quinceañeras, with the adjacent rooftop terrace offering spectacular views of Manhattan.
“We put 300 million dollars into developing Radio Hotel and Tower, and for that investment we could have easily constructed a building in downtown Manhattan,” said Margarette Lee, partner at Youngwoo & Associates. “We chose this location because we believe in the neighborhood, and we have a chance here to have an impact. Seventy percent of the employees at the hotel and restaurant are from the neighborhood, and our presence here will result in a significant economic input to the community.”
The building also hosts a range of facilities for food and entertainment, including Jalao NYC, which celebrates the neighborhood’s local Dominican culture. The first US outpost of the popular Santo Domingo restaurant, Jalao NYC was created by a collaboration between Richard Sandoval Hospitality and Jalao founder Antonio Espaillat. Just beyond the restaurant, at ground level, the hotel also features an 8,000 square-foot courtyard with a garden and ample outdoor seating, a hub of live music and activity for the hotel.
Bringing a jolt of electric energy to an often-overlooked part of Manhattan, Radio Hotel and Tower addresses Washington Heights’ pressing lack of hotel rooms. It celebrates the area’s community, furthering the urban qualities of the surroundings without departing from the already-existing urban character. And of course, it creates a landmark that brings attention to the neighborhood. The Radio Hotel & Tower has already attracted praise and excitement, with Time Out New York writing “suddenly we’re itching for a staycation way, way uptown”.
Room rates for mid-November, two guests $176-$385.
