The Plaza Hotel, an iconic New York landmark that sits just outside of Central Park, is currently in contract for $600 million. This could be the end of a long and tumultuous journey for the 19-story luxury hotel if the deal goes through. The building has been on and off the market for years, and its story is anything, but simple.
Most recently, it was purchased in 2012 by the Sahara Group for $575 million. However, they began looking to sell the property when its president Subrata Roy was imprisoned in India in regard to involvement in multiple scandals. The plan was for the sale to help pay Roy’s bail. Then in 2017, the building was almost sold to a Saudi prince, but the deal ultimately fell through. After this disappointing flop, the owners hired a broker to help assist in the sale.
It seems to have worked as now a group of investors led by the Chimera Group and the Hakim Organization are currently in contract to buy the Plaza. The investors have seven weeks to close the deal, but still a lot can change during this time because there is time for the seller to consider accepting a lower bid from shareholder Ashkenazy Acquisition.
Over recent years, one of the elements that has certainly factored into the tough sell are the updates the El-Ad group made to the hotel in 2004. While they owned the building, they converted 100 rooms into condos, changing the hotel landscape from 800 available key rooms to a mere 282.
Will there be room for new Plaza Hotel owner by summer’s start or will yet another deal dissolve on the table? Only time will tell who will really turn the key next. Past owners of the hotel include Donald Trump, The Hilton Group and the New York Life Insurance Company, notes Curbed.
