NY1 recently got an exclusive first look at plans for a new gay themed hotel complex on Manhattan's 42nd Street. NY1's Jill Urban filed the following report.

It was once the old Travel Lodge, then it became a homeless shelter. After being abandoned for several years, the site on West 42nd Street will soon become The Out NYC -- New York’s first Gay Urban Resort Complex.

"We are going to be a hetero-friendly urban resort, which means we are going to turn Ian Schrager’s concept upside down. His hotels 20 years ago were more 80 percent straight and 20 percent gay-friendly," said Ian Reisner of Parkview Developers. "Here we hope to be more of a true hetero-friendly complex -- a gay environment where straight friends and family are welcome to come and enjoy our fun too."

There has been a lot of buzz about the development, but NY1 was the first to get a glimpse of the actual plans.

The site, which takes up three quarters of an acre, will include 90,000 square feet of hotel, restaurant, retail and nightlife space.

The hotel, which will be run by Axel Hotels, will have 127 hotels rooms and eight shared luxury accommodation rooms. It will include The Nikel Spa, a pool club, a gym with membership open to the community and a 2,500 square foot catering facility. Developers will add two more floors to the current structure and glass-in two of the atriums.

There will be a 24/7 café and a sit-down restaurant called Kitchen. Then there will be a nightlife venue called Exell Dance Bar.

"In this nightlife venue we are gonna have a day bar that will stay open until late in the night. We're also gonna have a 5,000 square foot nightclub for enough room for 650 people to dance," Reisner said.

The luxury facility will add new dimension to the development of West 42nd Street. Members of the local community board say it’s a welcome addition.

"This is a place where people can go and be entertained and have a good time. At the same time it’s a hotel on top which will be an attraction for tourists to come in," said Community Board 4 Member Robert Benfatto.

Even though it will be a boutique hotel, when it comes to price, developers say don’t expect it to be like many of the others here in the city. They say these rooms will be much more affordable.

"The Out NYC is not supposed to be a replica of the Gansevort or the Standard Hotel. We are going to have rooms below $300 a night. We're even going to have SLA, shared luxury accommodations, for $99 a night for younger tourists that want to participate in all that the OUT NYC has to offer," Reisner said.

The nightclub is expected to open early next year and the rest of the complex by fall 2011. Many say once it's complete, OUT NYC will be in the in place to be.