It is a New York icon with a distinctive sign. The New Yorker Hotel, located at 481 Eighth Avenue, dates back to his 1930s, and even after ownership, world-famous figures such as John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro, and Joe DiMaggio have stayed there. Will the history of this iconic hotel take a new turn?
Yellowstone Real Estate Investments, a private equity firm focused on opportunistic real estate transactions, acquired $106 million in hotel loan debt earlier this month and acquired the new ownership. paved the way for. Reported in the Commercial Observer. If this name sounds familiar, it’s because Yellowstone acquired the Watson Hotel on W. 57th Street for an estimated $175 million two years ago.Since then, Watson asylum seekers detained and immigration.
The stunning New Yorker was built in 1930 and was the city’s largest hotel at the time. The current owner is the United Church, also known as the Moonies, who purchased the building in 1976 for $5 million. The church was founded by Reverend Sun Myung Moon, who considered himself the second coming of Christ, and was the subject of a controversial mass wedding at Madison Square Garden.
It was used as a hotel, For housing for unmarried members of the church and administration Until the early 1990s. In 2013, the facility underwent his $30 million renovation, and a few months later, Wyndham Hotel. In 2019, be in the middle of a legal dispute In negotiations with a man named Mickey Barrett, he filed a deed document with the Treasury Department for a price of $189 million, transferring ownership of the hotel to his nonprofit organization, Mickey Barrett Missions. He claimed to be the owner of the hotel and said: new york post“I have never cheated.”
It is unclear whether the Unitarian Church is actively pursuing a sale or whether Yellowstone is plotting to take over the hotel. Church tax status and finances It has been the subject of speculation and legal battles for decades. Reverend Moon was convicted of income tax fraud in 1982 and sentenced to 13 months in prison. Recently, the Unification Church Signed a contract to sell the 260-acre seminary It was sold for $15 million in Barrytown, New York.
Nikola Tesla, a genius inventor and electrical engineer, lived in rooms 3327 and 3328 of The New Yorker from 1933 to 1943. He died on his third floor of the hotel, A plaque was erected in his memory. An interesting twist on the story of Tesla’s scientific paper. “Death Rays”disappeared from his hotel room safe shortly after his death and was never found.
Despite its turbulent and long history, the New Yorker remains an elegant and striking hotel, with 1.1 million square feet and 1,000 hotel rooms. It also has 140,000 square feet of student housing, 110,000 square feet of office space, and 16,000 square feet of retail space. At present, its future has not yet been determined.
The debt was first issued Sold to a hotel in 2016, the property’s former lender, M&T Bank, has been looking for a buyer since July, with final bids due by August 10. Loan-to-value ratio is 43%, the property is currently valued at approximately $246 million. The purchase price of the receivables is unknown, but bisnow report The loans traded at “near par” prices.
M&T Bank declined to comment. Yellowstone Real Estate Investments, Uniting Church and Wyndham Hotels did not respond to requests for comment.
