By Billy Gray 1/31 5:41pm

Breaking Ground

180-orchard-demolition-2-620x465

Demolition Begins To Make Way For 23-Story Lower East Side Hotel

Construction crews are currently dismantling a two-story building at 180 Orchard Street on the Lower East Side, making way for an eventual Hotel Indigo that will rise 23 stories from the ground and bring 295 new hotel rooms to the transformed neighborhood.

Local bloggers have kept an eye on the address since 2009 during the protracted construction of the low-lying property now largely reduced to rubble. Rumors that a mini-mall would fill the space worried preservationists, but 180 Orchard Street lay vacant for years until it was announced in May of 2011 that Hotel Indigo, a “branded boutique” chain owned by Intercontinental Hotels Group, would move in. Read More

By Carl Gaines 7/24/12 1:02pm

Hotels

Astor Crowne Plaza.

New Orleans’ Astor Crowne Plaza: Going Once…

An unnamed special servicer has retained Auction.com and Eastdil Secured to auction off New Orleans’ famed 693-key Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel on August 22. The hotel sits at 739 Canal Street, at the entry to the city’s French Quarter.

Bidding for the 900,000-square-foot hotel will start at $105 million, with the winning bidder having the option to enter into a new franchise agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group, rebrand it or strike out and operate it independently. The current franchise agreement with Crowne Plaza, an IHG brand, is short term. Read More

By Carl Gaines 3/28/12 11:56am

Mortgage Observer

130 Cedar Street.

Originations—5 Deals Over $30M

130 Cedar Street—$70 Million

Bank of China provided a $70 million mortgage to borrower Cedar & Washington Associates for its building at 130 Cedar Street in lower Manhattan. The property features 181,297 square feet and is 21 stories tall. The mortgage price per square foot is $386. Read More