Aman Hotel, Where Rooms Can Go For $20K, Exploring $600M Sale
The Aman Group is exploring the sale of its Midtown hotel — the most expensive in New York City — just one month after the hotel opened.
Developer Vlad Doronin’s Aman Group is already exploring a potential sale of the redeveloped Crown Building for as much as $600M, which would make it the largest luxury hotel sale since the start of the pandemic, Bloomberg reports.
The Aman Hotel, located at 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, opened its doors to guests early last month, but Aman Group's contemplation of a sale is part of a strategic transaction that would see the Aman Group remain in place as the operator, a spokesperson told Bloomberg.
“Aman Group confirms it is working with JLL and UBS on the potential sale of the Crown Building,” an Aman representative told Bloomberg in an email statement. “As per Aman’s asset-light operating model and strategic vision for growth, the iconic building is being offered to market subject to a long-term management contract with Aman.”
The 83-suite hotel opened to fanfare last month, with reviews lauding its luxury amenities including an indoor spa, a 65-foot swimming pool, luxe decor and the silence throughout the property despite its location in the middle of NYC.
The building’s 22 residential condos have also sold fast, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal and The Real Deal, fetching some of the highest-priced residential transactions in NYC this calendar year. The unit that comprises the entire 22nd floor sold for $55M after asking for $62.5M.
The potential sale is intended to maximize funds and release capital to secure new locations for the group’s hotel portfolio. The Aman Group operates 24 hotels and resorts across the world, and it reportedly owns the real estate for 16 of them.
Aman and OKO Group, also owned by Doronin, secured a $750M construction loan for the Crown Building’s conversion in late 2019, with plans to open the building by Q4 2020. Cain International provided $450M in mezzanine financing, and worked to arrange a senior tranche of $300M from Bank OZK, Bisnow previously reported. It secured a new, $754M loan from JPMorgan Chase in June, Commercial Observer reported.
The Crown Building was originally constructed in 1921. Its previous owners include former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and first lady Imelda Marcos, New York developer Bernard Spitzer and his son, former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the WSJ previously reported.
