by Max Cea
Photo courtesy of WY Management.
For visitors from the center of the metro area universe — New York City — Nyack has almost everything. The quaint, one-square mile walkable village has diverse dining, varied visual arts, music, culture, river views and access to the majestic Palisades. When the day is done there’s stimulating night life. But after that, the options on where an out of town visitor can spend the night are limited.
“We live in Nyack and we always have the need for hotels,” says Michael Yanko, co-owner and developer of WY Management. “When my family comes to visit from Israel — ten at a time — there aren’t enough rooms in Rockland where I don’t feel like I’m throwing them in a dirty motel.”
Yanko’s issues with Rockland’s lodging should end in 2014 when NYLO (New York Loft Accommodations) comes to Nyack. The affordable, design-oriented hotel line, featuring ultramodern, ultra-urban loft-style accommodations, plans to open a new location in Nyack sometime in 2014.
NYLO Nyack will be located just off of Exit 11 of the New York State Thruway, halfway between the Palisades Mall and Nyack’s downtown. The long-abandoned factory building on that site might seem a strange choice for a chic hotel, but the potential of 280,000 vehicles passing by each day on 287 was part of what made Nyack an enticing location for the hotel chain. NYLO Nyack will serve as both a hotel and a giant advertisement for the NYLO brand.
Future site of NYLO Nyack Hotel near Exit 11 on NYS Thruway. Perspective is from 287 looking East back toward Nyack.
Photo Credit: Google Streetview
Nyack’s Village Planner Bob Galvin says the project makes both economic and environmental sense because designers plan to repurpose materials from the abandoned factory. “It’s a sustainable project. They’re going to reuse the steel and the other materials from the building itself,” he says. Galvin explained that NYLO’s needs matched up with what Nyack could offer. “A special permit is allowed within the manufacturing district, so it’s probably the only zone that it would’ve been able to go into. Fortunately, there was already a vacant building there.”
Since opening their first hotel in Plano, Texas in December, 2007 NYLO has added additional hotels in Texas, Rhode Island, and a soon-to-open New York City location.
Beyond fulfilling availability and zoning requirements, the hotel should provide a boon to Nyack’s downtown economy. NYLO Nyack will have two conference rooms, a reception hall, a Delmonico’s Steakhouse, and a recording studio. Developers say that whatever the 3-star hotel doesn’t have in amenities will only be a short shuttle bus ride away in downtown Nyack or Piermont via the hotel van.
Yanko and Kerry Wellington are partners in WY Management, a boutique development house located in NYC. Having previously worked with NYLO and seen their expertise in turning small warehouses into loft-style hotels, the pair saw the potential in the Thruway adjacent location as a boutique hotel. “We saw the warehouse and we immediately targeted it to the NYLO brand,” says Yanko.
What’s a NYLO?
“Business today is stretching its boundaries beyond major gateway cities, yet few suburban areas offer unique boutique business hotels. NYLO Hotels meets the demand with an uncanny approach that appeals to hip urban professionals while satisfying the budget and practical needs of executive travelers. Each of our ultramodern, full-service hotels is located minutes from major corporate campuses and within close proximity to airports, restaurants and attractions.”
– excerpted from NYLOhotels.com
In addition to families of Rockland residents, NYLO hopes to attract tourists and business travelers to their Nyack location. With rates expected to average $150 a night, its swank décor, business-friendly bar and conference space are designed to appeal to weekday business professionals and weekend tourists.
The NYLO CEO even has a plan to get city-based bikers to turn day trips to Nyack into overnight stays in the village. “We’re planning a ‘Tour de NYLO’ package for cyclists to bike from NYLO New York City to NYLO Nyack for dinner and an overnight stay, ” says Michael Mueller, CEO of NYLO Hotels.
“The Hudson Valley’s rapid economic growth, the charming and artistic character of Nyack and the close proximity to New York City make Nyack an ideal location for our brand’s continued expansion,” says Mueller. “NYLO Nyack will offer a unique alternative for dining and events and will be perfectly poised to comfortably and stylishly accommodate the area’s mix of leisure travelers from New York City and international business travelers.”
Max Cea is a contributing editor at NyackNewsAndViews and a Junior at the College of William & Mary.
