Joshua Zamir’s Capstone Equities continues to buy struggling Manhattan hotels.
The investment firm recently took control of the closed 98-room Life Hotel in Midtown after its owner defaulted on the property’s mortgage, Zamir told reporters. real deal.
Capstone bought Deutsche Bank’s $47 million loan on the 19 West 31st Street hotel and then negotiated a deal, Zamir said. Deed in lieu of foreclosure A deal was reached with property owner, investor David Mitchell.
Capstone is planning a $30 million renovation of the boutique hotel near Herald Square, which it plans to reopen later this year. The company will operate the hotels under its in-house management brand, Rebel Hospitality.
mitchell, who bought the hotel $41 million 2015 was not immediately available for comment. Aaron Jungreis of Rosewood Realty Group provided buying advice for Capstone.
This is Capstone’s third acquisition of a struggling midtown hotel since early last year.Last January, the company took control of 135 rooms Renwick Hotels 118 East 40th Street after buying its $46 million non-performing loan at a “substantial discount.”
Capstone also acquired the defaulted loan on the Gregory Hotel in the Garment District, and Complete a foreclosure sale To investors Denis Xhari and Vlash Pepa early last year.
The city’s hotel industry has bounced back from the trough of the pandemic shutdowns, but it’s still not at full strength.Last year’s average occupancy rate was reported to be 75%below the pre-COVID-19 average of 86%.
In Manhattan, the all-important revenue per available room metric surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the first time in the second half of last year, according to PwC. But with business travel not yet fully resuming, staffing remains difficult and hotels remain struggling.
Barry Sternlicht noted on Starwood Property Trust’s March earnings call that hotels are doing well, but with fewer staff, service is not as good as guests are used to.
“You should bring your own sheets to the hotel today because we won’t change your sheets,” he said.
