10 Sep 2014
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AA piece of Ibiza comes to Gotham City mid-September — a club like New Yorkers have never seen. Unless of course they’ve been to Ibiza, in which case, they know the wonders in store. The name says a lot about it. Unlike so much city real estate, Space NYC’s cavernous 637 West 50th Street location boasts more than twenty thousand square feet. Without doing the math, it sounds bigger than some of the terminals at LaGuardia.
The raw interior of the building is being developed specifically for the club, so its planning team has a lot of flexibility to execute a unique atmosphere. They are going above and beyond to impress locals who have the “been there, done that” mentality. A spin-off of the Ibiza location, Space will be broken into a few separate areas with different vibes.
The first floor of Space NYC will be super VIP – think Provocateur Cafe with DJs spinning private sets.
The ground floor will cater exclusively to VIPs. DJs will spin private sets in the intimate lounge setting before heading to the second floor to get the dance party started. The massive dance floor will be equipped with intelligent lighting inside mirror balls and the first double-automated lighting system in the world (think racks of lights on lights on lights… spinning.) Guests can also look forward to a roof deck terrace with panoramic skyline views.
Space promises to bring a better experience to partygoers than other clubs in NYC through small but meaningful innovations. And some of their plans are actually pretty clever. For example, building a bar next to the coat check will eliminate the frustration of finally getting into a club only to wait in another line while the pre-drinking buzz wears off. Yes, it’s a #firstworldproblem solver, but a nice amenity nonetheless. Additionally, the unique VIP-only elevator will provide the bottle service crowd with a more civilized ride to the top floors. Thank goodness for that, since the Jay Z/Solange debacle at The Standard a few months ago brought elevator privacy to a new level of importance.
All of the plans for Space NYC sound promising, but the club had better deliver since the space is costing a fortune in overhead. A bigger club comes with higher development and operation expenses, thus investors run a big risk. With all of the money that’s being shoveled into Pacha NYC’s new neighbor, the burning question is, will it be popular enough to be lucrative?
Mixing years of nightlife experience with a little business sense creates the type of innovator who makes a new club actually feel new, which is what keeps people coming back. Sankeys owner Anthony Piacquadio, the driving force behind Space NYC, is that magical combination. He got his first DJ gig at 14-years-old and it’s been his passion ever since.
The main club area of Space NYC will be quite big and very high tech with a lot of thought put into the design.
There’s something undeniably reassuring about a club run by a DJ. DJs log serious nightlife hours and unlike party-goes, they spend some of that time sober. The result: a deep understanding of what works and what doesn’t on the club scene. The owners of Space Ibiza recognized this in Piacquadio, one reason why they approached him about opening and operating the New York location. It also didn’t hurt that Piacquadio had a hand in developing Sankeys Ibiza, and successfully launched Sankeys New York in November 2013. He has earned a reputation for not only creating cool vibes, but also performing the difficult feat of replicating them in new cities.
Even with the right early momentum, ensuring the longevity of Space NYC will surely be a challenging endeavor. Maintaining a large club isn’t cheap and rising DJ fees further increase costs, which pass down to the masses through cover charges, bottle service, and drink prices. People are willing to shell out extra dollars if a club has appeal, but that comes down to a lot of variables, the hardest of which is crowd curation. Space NYC plans to work hard at marketing the club so it draws a fun crowd that exudes the right vibe. Sometimes it’s easy for clubs to do that, and other times, it just doesn’t work out. The nightlife industry is a fickle beast.
Space NYC plans to capitalize on one of the most popular times of the year by launching during New York Fashion Week. How will this new club fare against other NYC heavy-hitters? For now, it’s anyone’s guess. Only time will tell if New York nightlife really does long for more space.
Source: Interview with Anthony Piaquadio on April 30, 2014.
