The Plaza Hotel Is On The Sales Block

The Plaza Hotel In New York Is Closed Amid The Coronavirus.

The owners of the iconic Plaza Hotel overlooking Central Park have made their intentions of selling clear once again.

India-based Sahara Group, which purchased the property in 2012, has offered the building since 2015 while the company's founder and chairman, Subrata Roy, sat in jail for defrauding investors. But Sahara has retained the JLL Hotel and Hospitality Group to market the property, indicating a renewed seriousness to get a deal done, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Roy reportedly took meetings from his visitation room in jail regarding the Plaza Hotel, but left potential buyers frustrated, according to the WSJ. Last year, owners of the hotel's mortgage put the building up for auction, only to pull it back soon after. After Roy was released on parole in May 2016, a reported $325M offer from a group including Saudi royalty also fizzled out.

The hotel's location and reputation allow it to have room rates among the highest in the city, which could mean a sale price to match. But the Waldorf Astoria's record sale price of nearly $2B in 2015 would be tough to meet as the market for Manhattan hotels has declined since.

Though the average hotel sale price in the first half of this year has been $515K per room in New York, some estimate that the Plaza will be looking for offers in the neighborhood of $2M per room. Due to the fact that previous owners have spun off some rooms as occupant-owned condos, meeting such a price would give the Plaza a $560M price tag.

Though the hotel once owned by Donald Trump will likely not touch the Waldorf Astoria's overall price record, how much it does fetch could be a fascinating referendum on the value of flagship, historic hotel property in New York.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

How Long Island Projects Can Cut Through Red Tape And Community Opposition To Cross The Finish Line

More Hotel Owners In Need Of Cash Are Getting It From The Big Brands

Empire State Building Observation Deck Hemorrhaging Visitors, Value

Slate, Hudson Cos. Picked To Develop Massive Queens Housing Project

BXP's 343 Madison Lands $1.2B Loan, Nears Deal With Equity Partner

Mamdani Adds Millions To Program Helping Retailers Negotiate With Landlords

Canadian REIT Buys Brooklyn Medical Office For $90M: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

Hilton's Q2 Results Barely Beat Wall Street's Expectations

NYC Stops Construction On Another Office-To-Residential Conversion As Inspectors Descend On Job Sites

SL Green Cashing In On Surging Manhattan Office Market

The World Cup Filled Stadiums. Hotel Rooms Were A Different Story

Developers Build More Bedrooms As 99-Unit Projects Dominate