Taconic Lends $38M on Long Island City’s Z NYC Hotel
By Cathy Cunningham October 4, 2019 10:15 am
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Merchants Hospitality has sealed a $38 million recapitalization for the Z NYC Hotel in Long Island City, Commercial Observer has learned.
Taconic Capital Advisors provided the debt in a transaction arranged by Iron Hound Management’s Chris Herron and Kevin Thompson, according to sources close to the deal.
Merchants acquired the 100-room hotel, at 11-01 43rd Avenue, in July 2018 for $43 million, as first reported by the New York Post. The seller was the estate of taxi magnate Henry Zilberman, who developed the property in 2011.
Following the acquisition, Merchants undertook a $2.5 million repositioning of the hotel’s rooms, exterior and common areas. Real Hospitality Group recently took over the property’s management.
The property boasts unobstructed, 180-degree skyline views of Manhattan from floor-to-ceiling windows in every room. It includes 45,000 square feet of retail, office, food & beverage and amenity space. The Savanna bar recently opened on the hotel’s 5,000-square-foot rooftop, and there are plans for a Merchants Hospitality-branded Treadwell Park bar and restaurant on the second floor, sources said.
In June, Taconic also refinanced Merchants Hospitality’s Cachet Hotel — which includes the Playboy Supper Club— in Hudson Yards with a $42 million loan.
Merchants Hospitality has a diverse portfolio of assets including hotels, restaurants, residential condominiums and office buildings. In addition to the Z NYC Hotel and the Cachet Hotel, its properties include the Hyatt Andaz, Aruba Starwood Hotel and the Pier 15 venue at South Street Seaport.
Officials at Taconic, Iron Hound and Merchants Hospitality did not return requests for comment.
