Starwood says it will take the Sheraton flag down from the 395,000-square-foot Sheraton Manhattan in April and operate it as a non-branded property while it's undergoing redevelopment. In a release, Starwood says it will operate the hotel without a brand name because it "does not currently meet the upgraded standards of the Sheraton brand." As GlobeSt.com reported Wednesday in an article on the sale of the Sheraton Braintree in Massachusetts (http://www.globest.com/news/1591_1591/boston/183373-1.html), Starwood has identified 42 properties that don't meet the brand's new standards under a three-year, $6-billion global overhaul.

"A variety of options" to maximize the Sheraton Manhattan's value are on the table, Starwood says, adding that the company has received "considerable interest from investors and developers" in partnering on the redevelopment. The hostelry, which occupies a block along Seventh Avenue between 51st and 52nd streets, will be repositioned under one of Starwood's brand flags, with retail and office components both possibilities.

"This will complement our existing portfolio in Manhattan's Time Square area that includes the landmark Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, Westin Times Square and W Times Square as well as the soon-to-open Element Times Square West," Simon Turner, Starwood's president of global development, says in a statement. The Element will mark the New York City debut of one of two new Starwood brands; the Aloft New York Brooklyn is also scheduled to open later this year.