FINANCIAL DISTRICT — The luxury Beekman Hotel, built inside a landmarked 1880s office building with a soaring atrium and skylight, has finally set an opening date.
The Beekman and two restaurants are slated to open Feb. 1, Robert Andrews, the building's managing director said at a CB1 meeting on Tuesday evening.
Reservations for rooms will start next month, he added.
But on Thursday, a spokeswoman for The Beekman warned that the February opening date for the hotel was not "set in stone."
"It's slated to open in 'early 2016,'" spokeswoman Candice Bruder wrote in an email. "Within that timeframe, February could be possible." The restaurants will open whenever the hotel opens, she said.
The Beekman has been undergoing a long conversion process to turn it into the 287-room upscale hotel, operated by Thompson Hotels, which also owns TriBeCa's Smyth hotel.
An adjoining luxury condo tower, with 68 private residences is also being built, though that 51-story building will open sometime in the second quarter of 2016, Andrews said. Those apartments, priced at $1.2 to $4 million, are currently being sold.
More details about the hotel's restaurants were also unveiled during the Tuesday meeting.
Restaurateur Keith McNally — who opened Balthazar and Minetta Tavern — will open a 94-seat eatery called Augustine, serving French bistro fare.
Items on its evolving menu include a roasted porcini, mascarpone tart for $23; escargot for $22 and a $38 Petite Aioli — a mix of lobster, shrimp and baby vegetables in garlic aioli.
Daniel Parilla and Shane McBride, the co-executive chefs of other McNally ventures, will be at the helm at Augustine, McNally told reporters.
McNally, who won CB1's support for his liquor license, said he will not be involved with the hotel's room service.
"I hope it all goes well," McNally said. "We're looking forward to it."
Tom Colicchio will run an eatery and lounge in the hotel, which will also serve room service, The New York Times previously reported.
