You may remember we reported here a couple weeks ago that
THE AXEL hotels, based in Spain, were planning to break
 ground on a property here in NYC in 2011.

Well,  NOT GONNA HAPPEN.  I was in Barcelona last week and met with the Axel people, and even though they plan to come to NYC sometime in the future, it is not on the current radar screen.

It was just rumors and gossip.

Or was it.......


This week comes news that in fact  another "hetero-friendly" hotel will be opening here in the city. 

The Parkview Developers, run by a gay New York couple, are calling the project "The Out NYC."  (What an awful name!)

The development, to be completed by early next year, will consist of 123 guest rooms, a 10,000-square-foot dance club, a gym, spa, restaurant, and a 24/7 café. Much of the complex will be housed in the old Travel Inn, which was built in the 1960s, and is located at 508 W. 42nd St. (between 10th and 11th).

The $20 million "Urban Gay Resort" could bring nearly 80,000 square feet of new gayness to the city. If built, it will be New York's first full-service gay hotel, and the first new nightclub serving the gay community in more than five years to have a cabaret license.

There are lots of obstacles ahead for their idea but they are getting lots of support.  John Blair and Beto Sutter are also involved with the project. The most significant hurdle at this point — for the nightclub and for the overall character of the project that ends up being built — is approval of both a liquor license and a cabaret license for the nightclub.

With only three Manhattan gay nightclubs — Splash, the Monster, and Escuelita — licensed for dancing, and a total capacity of less than 2,300 patrons combined, Blair, Sutter, and the Parkview team clearly see a ripe opportunity to fill the void in nightlife options, particularly for Hell’s Kitchen’s swelling gay population.