GFI Hospitality

In 2012, the Temple Court tower at 5 Beekman Street was decaying, boarded up and uninhabited, when Allen Gross, the Chairman and CEO of GFI Capital, LLC acquired the iconic property visualizing a luxury hotel in the red brick Queen Anne style building and annex, with an adjoining 51-story modern luxury condominium tower.

Located in the Fulton Nassau Historic District, adjacent to Tribeca and the Financial District in downtown New York City, the Beekman is surrounded by some of the city’s most iconic sites including the Brooklyn Bridge, City Hall Park and the World Trade Center. Lower Manhattan has recently undergone a remarkable transformation with more than 2 million square feet of new and repositioned retail space and eateries opening in the neighborhood., The Beekman has been credited as “one of the key developments leading the dramatic change in Lower Manhattan”.

James Beard award winners, Tom Colicchio and Keith McNally have debuted signature restaurants at The Beekman. Colicchio’s Fowler & Wells is named for two phrenologists who used to be office tenants in the former office building and features a menu inspired by classic New York dishes popular at the turn of the century.The Atrium Bar Room serves as the hotel’s living room with a robust cocktail menu that spotlights different spirits, also inspired by menus of the past. Keith McNally’s Augustine is a brasserie-style restaurant, featuring a combination of lighter dishes and McNally’s take on French classics.

GFI engaged the services of the architectural firm of Gerner, Kronick + Valcarcel (GKV) who is experienced with adaptive reuse and working with landmarked buildings in NYC. Recognizing the potential of the interior spaces, GFI brought in famed international hotel and restaurant designer, Martin Brudnizki who captured the romantic history of Temple Court with an interior design that evokes a lovingly worn and authentic sentiment with a defining edge of luxury.

The centerpiece of the hotel is the magnificent 9-story atrium with its wrought-iron railings and crowning pyramidal skylight. GFI painstakingly restored the atrium--which was closed and shuttered since the 1940s--highlighting the original Victorian railings and balustrades and the encaustic tile floors.

The Beekman is managed by Thompson Hotels and features 287 rooms, including features two duplex penthouses housed in the Beekman’s iconic crowning turrets.

Architect – Gerner, Kronick + Valcarcel
Designer – Martin Brudnizki Design Studio