Take A Look Inside Gowanus' First Boutique Hotel

In the next few months Gowanus, a neighborhood already crawling with cultural institutions never imagined even five years ago, will welcome another new addition: a boutique hotel.

Union Hotel, built from the ground up between Third and Fourth avenues on Degraw Street, has been about three years in the making. Featuring 43 rooms and a rooftop beer garden open to the public (that is -- pending permit approval), the hotel is another in a long line of surprising but not at all shocking new developments in the neighborhood.

"This kind of product, it does not exist" in Gowanus, said hotel developer and operator Alec Shtromandel of Greenwich Street Equities, Ltd.. "We are geared to a whole new clientele."

Shtromandel says the hotel is expecting guests who come to New York for an "authentic" experience, one that he said no longer exists in Manhattan.

"[We will attract] stylish tourists, a younger crowd from coastal cities and metropolitan areas as well as Europeans," he said, noting that people have already begun making reservations, though none are being accepted before May 1. Rates at the hotel, which is slated to open April 15, will run between $129 and $200, and up.

This particular stretch of the neighborhood already offers a number of attractions, including the performance and arts space and the indoor wall climbing gym . is right around the corner.

Hotels have been sprouting up left and right in the formerly industry heavy neighborhood, thanks to zoning that allows for mixed-use and light industry. The location, Shtromandel added, close to transportation and nestled between the popular neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill and Park Slope, also makes it perfect for a hotel. And with the nearby Atlantic Yards development, hotel rooms will be in high demand, Shtromandel added.

Tourism is indeed and the demand for accomodations is great. 

"Tourism is one of the industries that is growing in Brooklyn," said Carl Hum, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, which has spoken with Shtromandel through its office of Real Estate and Development.

"From the Chambers perspective, [the hotel] is a good thing in terms of what's to come," said Hum, referring to increased business opportunities in the borough.

While many hotels are already open in Gowanus, including the nearby Marriott on Third Avenue, with more on the way, Union sets itself apart as the first design oriented-hotel, said Shtromandel. Though nearby Park Slope has a trendy hotel, too. In 2007, Hotel Le Bleu opened for business on Fourth Avenue and Fifth Street.

In addition to design elements intended to remain true to the area's architectural past (11 foot ceilings and subway tile bathrooms), the rooms will also feature "graffiti" wallpaper. Gorillas towering over the Brooklyn Bridge and other landmarks will decorate the ceilings above the beds.

And in another nod to its location, the hotel is also following the path of trendy Brooklyn locavores. The food sold on the premises will be sourced primarily from local vendors.

"We want to showcase a little of Brooklyn," Shtromandel said.