“The purchase price, which was determined by the city's Economic Development Corporation, reflects the fact that Host has paid over $1 billion to the city and state in rent, taxes and acquisition costs since the project began, including every penny owed under its ground lease. This transaction is consistent with the agreements reached with previous administrations.”

“Host is simply re-acquiring something it previously purchased,” he states. In 1981, Host bought the land on which the Marriott Marquis sits for nearly $34 million and then sold it back to the state of New York for $10. The land price was negotiated with the city in 1998 and resulted in an accelerated purchase of the asset. The original purchase date wasn't supposed to be until 2057.

After the initial transaction in the early 1980s, Host was to pay rent to the city each year for 75 years, explains the Real Deal. Host also had an option to repurchase the property for fair market value once the lease expired.

However, during the 1988 negotiation, the agreement was shortened to 40 years, with an expiration date of 2017 and providing Host a chance to buy the building for a fixed $19.9 million as soon as 2013, according to the Deal.

But City Comptroller John Liu is none too pleased by the arrangement. Back in February, he called on the EDC to renegotiate the lease, which he stated could cost taxpayers $344.9 million.

“This is one of worst deals since Manhattan was sold for $24,” he said earlier this year. “The EDC betrayed its fiduciary responsibility to act in taxpayers' interest when it recommended this sweetheart deal to the City in 1998. The clock is ticking—the lease set to expire in less than four years would let the Marriott Marquis purchase one of the hottest pieces of New York real estate for a fire-sale price of $20 million—that's ten cents on the dollar compared to its value today.” After an audit, he valued the hotel at nearly $200 million, but some area transactions have been done for even higher prices.

Now, after learning that the deal closed, Liu says, “It is no surprise that anyone would want to snap up that prestige New York City property for such a relative pittance, and just in time for Christmas. But this corporate giveaway was a horrendous deal for city taxpayers that could have and should have been renegotiated.”

The city's Economic Development Corp., which likely had a role in the sale, did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Marriott declined comment.