JFK Airport Hotel Used as Migrant Shelter Sells for $79.2M
By Abigail Nehring March 13, 2024 3:18 pm
reprints
GFI Capital Resources Group sold a 335-room hotel near John F. Kennedy International Airport that New York City officials announced last summer would be converted into an emergency shelter for asylum seekers.
Crowne Partners, a limited liability company registered in New York, bought the Crowne Plaza JFK Airport hotel at 138-10 135th Avenue in South Ozone Park, Queens, on March 6 for $79.2 million, according to city property records filed Tuesday.
Daniel Cohen, a real estate attorney with Jeffrey Zwick & Associates who signed off on the deal for Crowne Partners, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans last July to begin using the airport hotel as an emergency shelter serving 330 migrant families. It was being used for that purpose as of last month, according to CBS. Spokespeople for City Hall and NYC Health+Hospitals, which is overseeing intake for asylum seekers arriving in the city, did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for NYC Emergency Management declined to comment.
GFI acquired the hotel in 2017 for $58.1 million, property records show. The firm completed a $16.5 million renovation, including adding five hotel rooms, according to its website.
Joel Rosen, president of GFI’s hotel asset management arm, GFI Hospitality, signed the deal to hand over the property last week.
The hotel is one of several Crowne Plaza hotels that IHG Hotels & Resorts operates in New York. It’s currently closed for booking, according to the chain’s website.
Abigail Nehring can be reached at anehring@commercialobserver.com.
