Kushner Cos. Continues Return To Roots, Buys Jersey Shore Hotel

As its struggles continue with 666 Fifth Ave. and its connections to the Trump administration, Kushner Cos. is returning to its roots.

The company, run by Jared Kushner before he left to advise his father-in-law in the White House, closed on the purchase of the Bungalow Hotel in Long Branch on the Jersey Shore, NJ.com reports.

Jared and his father, Charles Kushner, led the company's foray into New York with the $1.8B purchase of 666 Fifth Ave. in 2006, at the height of pre-recession values. The company had continued its focus on New York for years, moving its headquarters into 666 Fifth, selling some New Jersey assets to finance that purchase and buying a sizable number of properties in Brooklyn.

But as 666 Fifth has struggled to attract tenants and investors, the debt-backed purchase has turned into something of a boondoggle, with a $1.2B debt bill scheduled to mature in February that Kushner Cos. has repeatedly failed to refinance or redevelop.

In the past couple of years, the company has resumed buying in New Jersey, including one of those assets sold for the sake of the 666 Fifth buy. Meanwhile, its signature Jersey development, One Journal Square, has also been jeopardized by a lack of investors and community support.

With the Bungalow Hotel, Kushner further entrenches its interests in Pier Village, where it has another hotel under construction. The 24-room hotel, built in 2009 and designed by Cortney and Robert Novogratz of HGTV fame, sits within the Pier Village development that Kushner already co-owns with Extell Development. Kushner purchased the hotel from a Hoboken-based LLC called Bungalow PV for an undisclosed price.

Since his departure from Kushner Cos. for the White House, Jared has reportedly kept a large majority of his assets. Whether he stands to profit from the Bungalow Hotel purchase is unknown.