610 West 56 Street (‘Terminal 5’ music venue)

Address: 610 West 56 Street
Block: 1103
Lot: 39
Landmark status: No

Contact:

Mark Thompson
Capalino+Company, represents venue owners
The Woolworth Building
233 Broadway, Suite 850
New York, NY 10279
212-616-5810

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Summary of site plans and status

UPDATE 12/5/07: The establishment has submitted an application for a cabaret license.
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UPDATE: 2/7/07
The full board meeting of Manhattan Community Board 4 voted to APPROVE the Business Licenses and Permits Committee recommendations.
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UPDATE: 2/14/07
Manhattan Community Board 4 wrote at letter to the New York State Liquor Authority conditionally supporting the liquor license application of Manhattan Music Society, Inc (Terminal 5).

Follow the link below to view the letter sent to the New York State Liquor Authority containing the complete set of conditions: http://www.manhattancb4.org/agendas/2007_2/2%20BLP%20Manhattan%20Music%20Group%20Inc..pdf

A new music venue plans to open in midtown in October.

The following is an August 14, 2007 article from The Real Deal:

Big music venue coming to W. 56th
One of the city’s largest live music venues to open in a decade is coming to the Midtown West space that housed Club Exit. The Bowery Presents, a New York-based promotion company, signed a 25-year lease for 40,000 square feet at 610 West 56th Street, between 11th and 12th avenues, and will open as Terminal 5 in early October. The initial line-up at the multilevel venue, which accommodates 3,000 people, includes the Shins with Vetiver and the Decemberists.

The space near 11th Avenue sat vacant for a year following Club Exit’s closure a year ago and a failed deal with the Copacabana nightclub about nine months ago, after that club was bumped out of its West 34th Street venue. “It’s not the kind of space for everybody. It’s all the way west by the Department of Sanitation,” said Alex Picken, president of Picken Real Estate and Nightlife Brokerage, who represented the landlord.

Bowery Presents, which manages and operates live music venues, including the Mercury Lounge on East Houston Street and the Bowery Ballroom on Delancey Street, will also open the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Patti Smith and her band will play at its Sept. 4 grand opening.

The Bowery Presents signed the lease for 610 West 56th Street about six months ago at less than $40 a foot, but only obtained a liquor license a few days ago, Picken said.

The New York State Liquor Authority’s moratorium on granting new liquor licenses at the end of last year lengthened the search for a tenant, he said. Unlike the series of club tenants, including Black, before it, Terminal 5 “will be a success because it’s live music,” Picken said, and will cater to a wide range of age groups. Each of the three floors will feature a bar. “Opening Terminal 5 allows us to continue providing better venues for bands and the best live experience for fans,” said Michael Swier, a Bowery Presents partner.

The new space will rival long-time venues like the Hammerstein Ballroom on West 34th Street and the Beacon Theatre in the West 70s. Picken negotiated two other deals for smaller Manhattan clubs in the last year – Highline Ballroom on West 16th Street and Rebel on West 30th Street, which are each about 10,000 square feet. By Lauren Elkies.

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UPDATE: 1/9/07
The Business Licenses and Permits Committee of Manhattan Community Board 4 voted to recommend DENIAL of a new on premises liquor license for the owners of the venue, Manhattan Music Society, d/b/a The Manhattan Music Group (MMG), unless the operators incorporate certain conditions into their application. Some of the conditions include limited patron use of the roof must end by dusk, notification of scheduled events must be given to the NYPD’s Midtown North Precinct of Community Affairs and Cabaret Division, and all events, music and beverage sales will conclude by 12:30 AM.