If ever confirmation was needed of Harlem’s rapidly advancing gentrification, this is surely it: a hotel and members club from a former executive of Soho House.

Uptown House will occupy a cavernous 80,000 square foot former factory space known as The Malt House, on Amsterdam Avenue between 126^th and 128^th Streets, and will have more than 40 bedrooms, three restaurants, two bars, a rooftop patio, a screening room, a library, a swimming pool and a fitness centre.

Former Soho House executive Mark Somen and his business partner Bob Emmett hope that the building will not only serve as a members’ club and Harlem’s first boutique hotel, but as a community incubator to bring together arts and cultural activities as well as business and media interests.

Further to the community-minded aspect of the club, members – approximately 40% of whom they estimate will be local Harlem residents – will be required to mentor a child from Harlem or The Bronx and may also have the opportunity to sponsor local youth sports teams.

The new club, the renovations for which are expected to cost $40 million, will form part of the growing Manhattanville Factory District, a neighborhood of old industrial buildings stretching for three blocks between Amsterdam and Convent Avenues.

Largely abandoned for over a century, this micro-neighbourhood is enjoying a renaissance, with an influx of new restaurants, bars and shops to service the new housing being developed in the area, which has long been home to academic institutions such as Columbia University.

The club is due to open in 2016.

Ideal For

Comfort and luxury in Harlem, business travel