NEW YORK CITY-Pointing up the continued rock-solid strength of the lodging sector, the sale of the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel closed Monday for $660 million. The investment group was led by the Witkoff Group with Jynwel Capital and its investors serving as the majority backer. Other consortium partners include New Valley LLC, Highgate Holdings and Macklowe Properties.
Witkoff was advised by attorneys Douglas Heitner and Christy Mazzola of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman. Jynwel's legal team came from Paul Hastings. It was led by partners Eric Landau and Marty Edelman, as well as associates Daniel Blaser, Lynn Feng, Heather Lockhart, Sharon Makowsky, and Jeff Myers.
The new owners plan to make upgrades to enhance the efficiency of operations of the 47-story, 605-key, 446,000-square-foot luxury hotel, and rebrand it as the Park Lane New York, according to the announcement of the sale. Back in July, it was reported that the prospective new owners planned to convert most of the property into condominiums but at the time of closing, there was no word of any such intention. The mega-price of the deal is also $10 million higher than what was forecast.
Wells Fargo and Criterion Real Estate Capital provided financing for the acquisition. Going forward, Highgate Hotels will manage the property. The seller is the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Says Jho Low, CEO of Jynwel Capital, “We are excited to partner with Witkoff and play an important role in the investment consortium for this attractive New York City hotel property.”
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
