ROOSEVELT ISLAND — Roosevelt Island may be getting its first-ever hotel and conference center next summer as part of Cornell Tech's new campus, but the plans are still before the city for approval.
Cornell Tech officials and their architect presented new designs and renderings for its planned Executive Education Center and Hotel to Community Board 8 members Wednesday night.
The two buildings, which are connected by a shared hall, occupy the space nearest to Cornell Tech's entrance, closer to the Queensboro Bridge, and is meant to be "the front door for the campus," said Andrew Winters, the school's senior director of capital projects.
The 195-room hotel will be made of metal panels and glass set upon a platform, which opens out to a outdoor plaza for the community. The lodging will primarily serve visitors from out of town attending business and academic conferences, students and professors from around the world, as well as the general public, according to Winters.
The hotel will also have a restaurant, a rooftop lounge, and a cafe, he said.
The adjacent Executive Education Center, which will have a large hall for roughly 300 people and four 50- to 75-seat classrooms, will have an exterior made of natural wood and aluminum planks, in contrast with the sleek look of the rest of the campus's buildings.
It will also have small breakout conference rooms and a buffet lounge for 150 people, all of which will be used for conferences and community group meetings, Winters said.
The campus will be inviting the public to use multiple courtyards, pedestrian-only streets, bike lanes and bike parking around the campus's perimeter, plans show.
There will be no parking provided for cars.
The designs must first be approved by the Public Design Commission since the school is leasing the land from the city before it can move on with building.
Both facilities are part of the campus's first phase, which also encompasses a student and staff residential building; the Bridge, an incubator for researchers and small businesses; and the Bloomberg Center academic building — all of which are slated to open in summer 2017.
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The Executive Education Center and Hotel sit at the entrance to the entire Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island.
The hotel will have a metal and glass exterior, which will be seen from the entrance to the campus.
The hotel will be set on a platform to allow public space underneath it.
The campus's "Tech Walk" will lead visitors, students, and staff past the hotel and Executive Education Center on their left.
The Executive Education Center, which will have a wood and aluminum facade, will host many academic and business conferences.