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The Four Seasons Hotel, New York
57 East 57th Street
New York, New York, U.S.A. 10022

Lobby corner with art works
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In 1987 William Zeckendorf Jr. assembled land on 57th Street between Park and Madison Avenue, consisting of four empty 5-floor buildings on the north side of 57th and an adjoining 58th Street site. Zeckendorf determined the best use for the site was a luxury hotel and began discussions with hotel operators.

One of the parcels at 50 East 58th - is the site of the former 200-room Blackstone Hotel and its restaurant Lottie's Dogwood Room.

Zeckendorf sought I.M. Pei (whose firm designed the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center) to design the luxury hotel. Zeckendorf Jr's father William Zeckendorf Sr. provided Pei with his first design job in 1946.

During the same time Harunori Takahashi, who some called the king of resort development projects in the South Pacific, admired Robert H Burns the founder of Regent Hotels International (a Hong Kong hotel company owned by an American!). Burns' first globally recognized luxury hotel, The Regent Hong Kong, opened in 1980. (It is an InterContinental now and not quite its former self).

Takahashi had just bought from Robert Burn's company the The Regent Sydney and was looking for more hotels to buy through the company he controlled - EIE International Corp. (Electronic & International Enterprises got its start in the 1940s importing from the US magnetic disc tapes). Takahashi also bought 30% of Regent Hotels from Robert Burns who retained 65%. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation owns 5 percent.

Burns knew William Zeckendorf Jr. and he knew Takahashi wanted to own an extraordinary hotel in New York City. The concept of a tall limestone luxury hotel on the 25,000 square foot lot was ready to move forward.

The hotel was announced in January 1989. It was expected to be the grandest hotel built in New York since the Waldorf=Astoria. The original plan was for 400 rooms and a main tower of 46-stories. A consortium of six Japanese banks led by Long-Term Credit Bank (LTCB) secured construction financing. The hotel was named Regent New York Hotel and to be managed by Regent International Hotels of Hong Kong. William Zeckendorf, Jr. acted as development consultant. Architects were I.M. Pei and Frank Williams, and Tishman Construction was the construction manager. (Frank Williams designed the 55-story W hotel in Times Square)

The interiors were to be designed by John F. Saladino, who was replaced by Hong Kong based Chhada, Siembieda & Associates, which was founded by Chandu Chhada and Don Siembieda in 1980.

Total costs for the 372-room project were estimated at $370 million - a million per room. By completion time the cost had swelled to $477 million, or $1.3 million a room.

A contemporary-modern approach was taken for the Regent, not a classical motif. The hotel's 52-story tower required a series of cascading set backs to comply with strict zoning requirements. Custom designed 12-foot decorative lanterns grace the upper levels. Honey-colored French Mangy limestone from France clad the facade.

The standard guest rooms are 610 sq ft with 10'4" ceilings. Fiddleback English Sycamore was used for all cabinetwork, doors and furniture.

Robert Burns was a stickler for detail especially on how to build a bathroom. Burns is quoted saying "I just feel that nobody should sit in a tub where somebody stood." The Regent New York baths are built with a glass enclosed shower stall and separate soaking tub.

Just after the hotel's topping off event in 1990 the Japanese real estate market imploded. EIE and Regent Hotels was forced to sell the Regent hotel chain and hotels under development at that time were in New York City, Bali, Milan, and Istanbul - all were subsequently opened as Four Seasons.

One of the major figures during Japan's bubble economy years was EIE's Harunori Takahashi, who bought up Hyatt and Regent hotels with $6 billion borrowed from the credit unions that were run by his friends. He was also president of a credit union which lent his own businesses over $1.26 billion. Takahashi died in 2005 a convicted felon.

In March 1992 Four Seasons Hotels Inc. paid $102 million for the Regent International Hotels group, providing the North American hotel operator an Asian foothold. Ownership of the under-construction Regent remained with Japan's Long-Term Credit Bank (LTCB).

LTCB, later renamed Shinsei, epitomized Japan’s banking problems. It is a story of greed, corruption and at time madness. LTCB was once the world’s 9th biggest bank. It collapsed in 1998 with $50 billion of bad loans.

The opening general manager was Wilfried N. Wagner.

According to the NY Times in August 1996 The Four Seasons Hotel was sold to a group of Hong Kong investors led by the Lai Sun Group (which also bought the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif., in February 1996). The seller was the Japanese bank LTCB. The sale price was e

The Four Seasons Hotel, New York
57 East 57th Street
New York, New York, U.S.A. 10022

Looking toward the concierge desk from the elevator foyer.
----------------
In 1987 William Zeckendorf Jr. assembled land on 57th Street between Park and Madison Avenue, consisting of four empty 5-floor buildings on the north side of 57th and an adjoining 58th Street site. Zeckendorf determined the best use for the site was a luxury hotel and began discussions with hotel operators.

One of the parcels at 50 East 58th - is the site of the former 200-room Blackstone Hotel and its restaurant Lottie's Dogwood Room.

Zeckendorf sought I.M. Pei (whose firm designed the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center) to design the luxury hotel. Zeckendorf Jr's father William Zeckendorf Sr. provided Pei with his first design job in 1946.

During the same time Harunori Takahashi, who some called the king of resort development projects in the South Pacific, admired Robert H Burns the founder of Regent Hotels International (a Hong Kong hotel company owned by an American!). Burns' first globally recognized luxury hotel, The Regent Hong Kong, opened in 1980. (It is an InterContinental now and not quite its former self).

Takahashi had just bought from Robert Burn's company the The Regent Sydney and was looking for more hotels to buy through the company he controlled - EIE International Corp. (Electronic & International Enterprises got its start in the 1940s importing from the US magnetic disc tapes). Takahashi also bought 30% of Regent Hotels from Robert Burns who retained 65%. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation owns 5 percent.

Burns knew William Zeckendorf Jr. and he knew Takahashi wanted to own an extraordinary hotel in New York City. The concept of a tall limestone luxury hotel on the 25,000 square foot lot was ready to move forward.

The hotel was announced in January 1989. It was expected to be the grandest hotel built in New York since the Waldorf=Astoria. The original plan was for 400 rooms and a main tower of 46-stories. A consortium of six Japanese banks led by Long-Term Credit Bank (LTCB) secured construction financing. The hotel was named Regent New York Hotel and to be managed by Regent International Hotels of Hong Kong. William Zeckendorf, Jr. acted as development consultant. Architects were I.M. Pei and Frank Williams, and Tishman Construction was the construction manager. (Frank Williams designed the 55-story W hotel in Times Square)

The interiors were to be designed by John F. Saladino, who was replaced by Hong Kong based Chhada, Siembieda & Associates, which was founded by Chandu Chhada and Don Siembieda in 1980.

Total costs for the 372-room project were estimated at $370 million - a million per room. By completion time the cost had swelled to $477 million, or $1.3 million a room.

A contemporary-modern approach was taken for the Regent, not a classical motif. The hotel's 52-story tower required a series of cascading set backs to comply with strict zoning requirements. Custom designed 12-foot decorative lanterns grace the upper levels. Honey-colored French Mangy limestone from France clad the facade.

The standard guest rooms are 610 sq ft with 10'4" ceilings. Fiddleback English Sycamore was used for all cabinetwork, doors and furniture.

Robert Burns was a stickler for detail especially on how to build a bathroom. Burns is quoted saying "I just feel that nobody should sit in a tub where somebody stood." The Regent New York baths are built with a glass enclosed shower stall and separate soaking tub.

Just after the hotel's topping off event in 1990 the Japanese real estate market imploded. EIE and Regent Hotels was forced to sell the Regent hotel chain and hotels under development at that time were in New York City, Bali, Milan, and Istanbul - all were subsequently opened as Four Seasons.

One of the major figures during Japan's bubble economy years was EIE's Harunori Takahashi, who bought up Hyatt and Regent hotels with $6 billion borrowed from the credit unions that were run by his friends. He was also president of a credit union which lent his own businesses over $1.26 billion. Takahashi died in 2005 a convicted felon.

In March 1992 Four Seasons Hotels Inc. paid $102 million for the Regent International Hotels group, providing the North American hotel operator an Asian foothold. Ownership of the under-construction Regent remained with Japan's Long-Term Credit Bank (LTCB).

LTCB, later renamed Shinsei, epitomized Japan’s banking problems. It is a story of greed, corruption and at time madness. LTCB was once the world’s 9th biggest bank. It collapsed in 1998 with $50 billion of bad loans.

The opening general manager was Wilfried N. Wagner.

According to the NY Times in August 1996 The Four Seasons Hotel was sold to a group of Hong Kong investors led by the Lai Sun Group (which also bought the Regent Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif., in February 1996). The seller was the Jap