The real estate group that recently bought a Herald Square office building for a bargain-basement discount has decided to turn it into a hotel.
Hidrock Realty, which bought the old Atlantic Bank building at 960 Avenue of the Americas for just $40 million—$65 million less than its former owner paid for it just three years prior—is going into the hospitality business, according to The Wall Street Journal:
A conversion would take about 18 months and cost about $25 million, [Abraham] Hidary says. The entire building, which was built in 1928, could be converted into a 160-room hotel. Hidrock also may decide to leave some or all of it as office space if there’s tenant demand, he says.
Hotel experts say that the Manhattan hotel market has rebounded off its lows but still is far from its peak. The occupancy rate was 79% in the first four months of this year compared with 83% the first four months of 2008 and 73% last year, according to PKF Consulting. Revenue per room per day was $173 the first four months of 2010, compared with $235 in 2008 and $160 last year.
More here.
drubinstein@observer.com
