Wearing chunky black combat boots and a skull cap over thick dark curls, Alex Calderwood looks more like a Tim Burton character than a hotelier. He's standing in what will be the grand lobby of the Ace Hotel, on the bustling corner of 29th and Broadway in NoMad, the new frontier of cool in Manhattan. "Isabel Toledo lives across the street," he mentions. "We're so downtown-focused. In reality, people have to do business in midtown." Calderwood steps carefully around the intricate tile floor that still remains from when the building was the stately turn-of-the-century Breslin Hotel. Now in the midst of being refurbished, the space will encompass The Breslin; a restaurant from the creators of The Spotted Pig; and the old-school Rudy's Barbershop, which Calderwood founded with partner Wade Weigel, in its first East Coast location.
Seattle native Calderwood, with friends Weigel, Doug Herrick and Jack Barron, started the Ace brand in 1999 with a minimalist, affordable (shared bathrooms!) hotel in Seattle's Belltown. In 2007, they opened an Ace in Portland and in February debuted the Ace Hotel and Swim Club in a former Howard Johnson's in Palm Springs. But the 247-room New York property is their biggest project to date. "We like recycling old buildings to find these challenged properties and turn them into opportunities." The clock is ticking. The Ace is slated to open in a matter of weeks. Calderwood kicks dust off his boots. "I'm not interested in something trendy," he says. "What I want to create here is an instant classic."
Ace Hotel, 20 W. 29th St., New York, www.acehotel.com
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