Members Only: Soho House Joins High-End Hotel, Condos In DUMBO
Established in London’s Soho district in 1995, Soho House is an exclusive, members only club for people working in the creative industries (film, fashion, art, media, etc.)
When it launched, the club earned a reputation for being a private playground for the likes of rock stars, artists, supermodels, and writers. Soho House & Co has launched 18 additional clubs over the years in cities around the world, including Berlin, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York.
The first U.S. Soho House opened in New York’s Meatpacking District in 2003 in a five-story former warehouse featuring a heated rooftop pool, a spa, screening room, restaurant, bar, library, and 30 bedrooms of varying sizes.
A second Manhattan outpost opened in 2016 in the Lower East Side. Named the Ludlow House, the club replaces a former four-story gold leaf factory and features a “club within a club” for live performances plus a retractable rooftop restaurant.
Plans were recently announced that Soho House & Co will make its way to Brooklyn with DUMBO House. Slated to debut later this year in Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Empire Stores building, the club will join West Elm, a branch of the Brooklyn Historical Society, and an outpost of the eatery Vinegar Hill House, Brooklyn Paper reports.
The club will occupy the top two floors of the re-purposed Civil War-era property, while Soho House & Co’s posh Italian restaurant, Cecconi’s, will open on the ground floor in May.
Dumbo House will not have a rooftop pool like the Meatpacking District club, but it will have an outdoor terrace with sweeping views of the city.
Those looking to join the exclusive club will need to shell out $1,050/year for use of the three New York outposts, or $3,200/year for use of all the clubs around the world, according to Brooklyn Paper—but even those who can pony up the cash will need to be nominated by two current members first.
Also, the uncool need not apply.
Dumbo House joins two other high-end establishments bordering Brooklyn Bridge Park, the “eco-luxury” 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, and the adjoining luxury condo complex, Pierhouse.
With a focus on sustainability, the 194-room 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge opened at 60 Furman Street in February. The guest rooms feature locally crafted furnishings made with reclaimed materials and industrial steel as well as custom hemp-blend mattresses and 100% organic cotton bedding.
The hotel offers views of the East River, the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan, and the Statue of Liberty as well as a rooftop pool. Rates start at about $400/night and shoot up to well over $1,000/night.
Residents of the Pierhouse condos at 90 Furman Street began moving into their new townhouse-style homes in February as well. At that time, approximately a third of the development’s 106 units had been sold for prices starting over $1 million and rising up to more than $7 million, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
The building offers residents a 24-hour concierge, fitness center, lounge, children’s playroom, pet wash, and a meditation studio.
As Joanne Witty, the Vice Chair of Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, told BKLYNER in January, the park’s master plan always included a self-sustaining financial model to collect commercial revenue to go toward the maintenance and upkeep of the park.
The hotel and residential component were chosen as they generate “the most revenue in the smallest footprint” and are “compatible [with the project] compared to big-box retail, offices, parking, or anything else that can generate revenue there,” she said.
While Mayor de Blasio’s administration insists that the park include affordable housing in the plan as well, the area surrounding Brooklyn Bridge Park is so far shaping up to be a tony and well-heeled neighborhood.
