Natixis-Led Lender Group Takes Over 20 Times Square From Developer
A group of lenders led by Natixis is taking over the glitzy hotel at 20 Times Square following a foreclosure auction, though it isn't yet clear what the future holds for the hotel.
The group took control of the property last week, after the lenders engaged SL Green to service the loan and consult on the arrangement, the New York Post reports.
The 452-room Times Square Edition at 701 Seventh Ave., a piece of Mark Siffrin’s Maefield Development's 20 Times Square development once valued at $2.4B, officially opened in 2019. Late that year, Maefield defaulted on the $800M leasehold debt, the Post reports.
Marriott International told employees in May 2020 that the hotel was set to close permanently from that coming August. However, reports emerged that Maefield was working out a deal with Natixis.
The hotel reopened in June, the Post reported, as the city began to see an improvement in tourism. SL Green isn't interested in buying the hotel, the Post reported though it could theoretically operate it, per the Post. Hotels are still battling difficult conditions in New York City, with occupancy back down to 42.5% this month, The Real Deal reports.
Several hotels reopened last summer with big hopes for the 2021 holiday season, but the omicron wave has slowed the city’s recovery once again — the city's average revenue per available room for the week ending Jan. 15 was down 53.9% from its pre-pandemic comparable period, according to STR, the second-largest gulf among large U.S. cities.
