Spanish hotel chain starts work on West 46th Street project

RIU Hotels & Resorts, the Mallorca-based hotelier that purchased a development site at the corner of West 46th Street and Eighth Avenue a year ago, has begun work on the multi-parcel site, Crain’s reported.

The company paid over $100 million for the site at 301 West 42nd Street, which includes an adjacent lot on Eighth Avenue that remains vacant, as well as one to the west.

The finished product is to be a 600-room, approximately 300,000-square-foot tower, according to previous reports cited by Crain’s.

RIU, a 60-year-old, family-owned business, purchased the site from Glenwood Management, which picked up the property during the 2011 downturn when the mortgage was in default.

The tower will have plenty of company in the neighborhood, including Boston Properties’ 250 West 55th Street office tower. Law firm Morrison & Foerster picked up a 205,000-square-foot, 15-year lease there in June. [Crain’s] — Julie Strickland