David Marx buys back Javits Center hotel site for $30M

Investor paid $45M for property in 2007, lost it to Lehman two years ago

An aerial image of the site at 448 11th Avenue
An aerial image of the site at 448 11th Avenue

Real estate investor David Marx is taking another crack at a hotel dream that the recession shattered, paying more than  $30 million for a site that his lender Lehman Brothers seized just two years ago, Crain’s reported.

The first time around, in 2007, Marx paid $45 million for the property at 448 11th Avenue, on the corner of West 37th Street across from the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center; his plans again call for a 210,000-square-foot hotel on the parcel, which is near another Marx development site at West 34th Street and 10th Avenue, according to Crain’s.

The sale was brokered by HFF, which is led by Andrew Scandalios. Neither Scandalios nor Marx could not be reached by Crain’s for comment.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Marx had to turn the land over to Lehman Brothers in 2011 after failing to secure construction financing. The financial giant  put the property back on the market several months ago.

The hotel would be the closest one to the Javits Center, which is undergoing a $400 million renovation and expansion. [Crain’s]  – Hiten Samtani