Hip Hop Hall of Fame Eyes Midtown Manhattan Location

The Hip Hop Hall of Fame Museum and Hotel Retail and Live Entertainment TV Studio complex project plans to issue a Request for Quotation review for architectural and design firms on July 1.

The RFQ review will be for a 35-story green technology mid-rise building in midtown Manhattan, and the decision on which design and architectural firms will be made at the end of this summer. Zubatkin & Associates are the owner representatives, led by Andy Bast, who will assist in the request for quotation selection process. The project is expected to break ground by June 2021 with an anticipated grand opening in the latter half of 2023. Founder JT Thompson said that the project’s start was pushed further into 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The selection of midtown Manhattan was due to the potential of a larger space in the area, though the Hip Hop Hall of Fame had originally considered 125^th Street in Harlem as a potential site. The project’s owners state that they will focus on acquiring the development site through November, and is preparing to initiate its SEC Reg D filing for the Hip Hop IPO Stock Offering, which includes ownership shares in the retail mall venture and live entertainment venue.

The site will feature a museum, retail stores, live entertainment venue, television studio, and a hotel. Radisson Hotels was one of the hospitality chains in consideration for the site. The proposed plans include a $40 million tax incentive package for the development through the city’s tax incentive program. The Hip Hop Hall of Fame also plans to open a co-branded Hip Hop art gallery and office space in Harlem.