Former LES Hospital Could Get 2 New Floors In Hotel Conversion

LOWER EAST SIDE— A historic Lower East Side building that once provided free medical care to New York City's lower income and immigrant communities could become a hotel under a new redevelopment proposal.

Javier Martinez, founder and chief executive of real estate firm Artifact, seeks a special permit to convert the four-story property at 75 Essex St., on the corner of Broome Street, into a hotel, according to an application filed with the New York City Department of City Planning.

The building currently houses Eisner Bros., a clothing store that began leasing the space in 1977 and purchased the property in 1985.

Artifact acquired the approximately 12,900-square-foot building in April for $17.8 million, Crain's New York Business reported.

The proposal would add two floors, expand the building to nearly 23,000 square feet and create 19 hotel rooms.

Built in 1832, the property originally housed Eastern Dispensary, a medical facility that provided free medical and surgical care, medicine and infant milk to New Yorkers, according to the Tenement Museum.

The Essex Street proposal is not Artifact's only hotel project in the neighborhood.

Last year, the developer filed plans for a nine-story hotel with about 40 rooms and ground-floor retail at 23-27 Allen St., between Hester and Canal streets, according to Crain's.

That project would replace three two-story commercial buildings.

The Essex Street application seeks permission to expand and convert an existing historic building rather than replace it with a new structure.

The Department of City Planning will review the application as part of the city's land-use process.