SOHO — The new luxury hotel in SoHo from developer Aby Rosen will feature a mural by Jeff Koons and a group of local teens.
11 Howard, Rosen's $180 million hotel at Howard and Lafayette streets, is still under construction, slated to open in March. The plan for the mural was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The teens are with an organization called Groundswell that paints murals all over the city, often inspired by big issues, such as a mural about access to healthy food in Cypress Hills, street harassment in Bed-Stuy, incarceration in Brownsville. A mural they painted inside the NoHo Planned Parenthood in 2014 clinic focuses on access to reproductive healthcare.
"We were introduced to the organization and liked their mission statement and the previous work they have done," said Sheldon Werdiger, head of marketing and design development for Rosen's company, RFR Realty.
Werdiger said the mural was designed by the teens, with mentoring from Koons.
Koons did not immediately respond to inquiries, but Rosen described the design of the mural to the Journal as the artists' “interpretation of the evolution of SoHo through symbolism and imagery."
Groundswell has previously done murals inspired by a location's history in Clinton Hill and the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Groundswell's interim exexutive director Rob Krulak said the design for the 11 Howard mural was conceived of by seven of the organization's youth artists, ranging in age from 17 to 22, guided by one of the organization's lead artists, Misha Tyuyunik.
"They worked together in the early stages of the project to talk to the folks at RFR and conduct extensive research of the history of SoHo and things that have been happening there recently," Krulak explained.
The team came up with "a few iterations of the design," then spent part of a day with Koons at his studio.
"Jeff offered his thoughts on things that might make it sing a little more," Krulak said. For example, the kids initially planned on a black-and-white mural, but "ended up using a color that [Koons] talked very passionately about, a particular shade of blue."
"[He] encouraged them to think about color as a way of highlighting," Krulak said.
Werdiger confirmed the 221-room hotel will feature Scandinavian design and tablets in every room to order room service.
As previously reported by DNAinfo New York, a French restaurant helmed by Stephen Starr will serve breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner in a 4,900-square-foot ground floor space on Lafayette Street between Howard and Canal streets.
The restaurant will hold 39 tables and 108 seats, a stand-up bar with four seats and have no outdoor seating, according to documents submitted to the local community board.
The hotel includes a bar, which will open in March, Werdiger said, and the restaurant is expected to open in March or April.
Rosen has also committed to donating an undisclosed "portion" of room revenue to an international organization called the Global Poverty Project.
Other nearby properties belonging to Rosen include 350 Lafayette St., a women's shelter he is converting into a luxury big-box retail store designed by Annabelle Selldorf, and the graffiti-covered former bank at 170 Bowery, long occupied by a reclusive photographer.
