Katara Hospitality Nabs Dream Downtown Hotel Ground Lease After Default
By Nicholas Rizzi June 10, 2021 1:55 pm
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The Qatar-backed Katara Hospitality, which owns the iconic Plaza Hotel, nabbed the ground lease for the Dream Downtown hotel in Chelsea after a default.
Katara took over the ground lease from Sahara India Pariwar, the Indian conglomerate led by businessman Subrata Roy, in a deal valued at $125 million, The Real Deal reported.
The transfer happened after Sahara defaulted on its $80 million loan from Katara, which it used the 355 West 16th Street ground lease as collateral for, property records show.
Representatives for Sahara and Katara did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for hotel operator Dream Hotel Group said the ground lease transfer will not affect its 32-year operation agreement with the Chelsea location, which reopened in May.
Sahara bought the ground lease for the hotel in 2012 for $217 million, the same year that the inn opened, TRD reported.
This isn’t the first deal between Katara and Sahara for a New York City hotel. In 2018, Katara bought the Plaza Hotel in Midtown from Sahara for $600 million, as Commercial Observer reported.
