Long Island City hotel to convert into ‘short stay’ co-living space

The century-old building prospered as a paper mill for several decades before it was turned into a hotel

London-based firm The Collective will convert The Paper Factory Hotel in Long Island City into a "short-stay" co-living space, the company announced this week.

The Collective aims to transform the nearly century-old building at 37-06 36th Street into one of the company's first U.S. locations, debuting the firm's short-stay model designed to give members greater flexibility in the length of their visits.

Members with The Collective will be able to stay between one and 29 days and have access to social and cultural events along with communal spaces for "a balance between intellectual growth, spiritual inspiration and cultural discovery," according to a press release. The company also plans to add 100 additional rooms to the hotel's existing 125 by building new levels atop the five-story property.

Queens developer Gal Sela transformed the 86,000-square-foot industrial building into a hotel in 2012. Built in 1925, the property served as the headquarters for the Pilot Radio Company from 1934 until it shuttered in 1942—when the building was coopted for production during World War II. Eventually the space was turned into a paper mill and prospered for decades until the 1970s when the neighborhood slipped into an era of disrepair.

Now, the hotel serves as a boutique hotel with an event space used for business gatherings, weddings, and parties. It also boasts other amenities such as an outdoor garden, a game room, and a health wellness center that will either carry over or be retrofitted for The Collective's co-living space.

The hotel is the firm's third New York City acquisition in six months.

It plans to erect a mixed-use co-living building in Williamsburg on the border of the contested Broadway Triangle, at 555 Broadway, where it will offer more than 500 apartments—30 percent are earmarked as below-market rate. The Collective also snapped up the site of the former Slave Theater in Bed-Stuy at 1215 Fulton Street.

Plans for the Bed-Stuy site are still being flushed out but will likely be similar to The Collective's 550-unit co-living tower that opened in London in 2016. Aside from a mix of apartments, the complex features co-working spaces, a restaurant, and other high-end services. Rents there average at £256 per week, or roughly $337.