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A Chinese publishing company purchased a property already in the midst of being converted to a hotel.
7-15 West 44th St. in Midtown is currently two small office buildings, but last year a foreign investor formed 7 W 44th St. LLC to convert the namesake building into a luxury hotel to be called the Lazar. Now, WanXin Media has purchased the property for $68M, The Real Deal reports.
In a statement, WanXin said it plans to build a boutique hotel and Chinese cultural center on the site, though whether the Lazar branding will remain is unknown. The parcel has 90K buildable SF, and if the previous owner's plans remain intact, then the hotel will have 20 floors and 96 rooms.
The hotel, whatever it is to be called, will share a block with some of the most venerable hotels in Midtown, including the Algonquin, the Royalton and the Sofitel.
