European Investment Firm Azora Snaps Up New-and-Improved Flatiron Hotel for $48M
By Abigail Nehring June 6, 2024 6:11 pm
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Private real estate investor Premier Equities found a buyer for the recently renovated 64-room Flatiron Hotel that’s been on the market for a little over a year, Commercial Observer has learned.
Azora Exan, the U.S. arm of European real estate investment firm Azora, bought 1149 Broadway at the corner of West 26th Street for $47.9 million, or $1,547 per square foot, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.
Floors two through nine of the 30,966-square-foot property are leased to hotel and short-term rental company Sonder, which lists rooms ranging from 219 to 448 square feet at the property starting at $262 per night.
Premier Equities bought the property in 2019 for $40.3 million after its former owner, failed hotelier Jagdish Vaswani, shuttered the hotel and filed for Chapter 11 in 2018, as CO previously reported.
The company overhauled the property and leased eight floors to Sonder, which launched the location during the pandemic. The short-term rental company is currently caught up in a legal battle over possible securities fraud after it revealed its federal financial filings were unreliable earlier this year.
Speakeasy Apotheke Mixology Bar opened its second New York City location on the top floor of the building in 2022.
Premier Equities listed the building in May 2023, hoping it would fetch $60 million, The Real Deal reported at the time.
Newmark (NMRK)’s Adam Spies, Marcella Fasulo, Adam Etra, Jessica Shevins, Michael Collins and Meaghan Philbin brokered the deal. The Newmark brokers declined to comment.
Spain-based Azora merged with Exan Capital, a U.S. real estate fund manager founded in 2013, and launched Azora Exan in 2021, according to Azora Exan’s website.
Javier Landecho, who heads up acquisitions for Azora Exan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Premier Equities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Abigail Nehring can be reached at anehring@commercialobserver.com.
