W Union Square

The W New York-Union Square has sold for $185.25 million, according to city records, in a deal that closed Sept. 2. The buyer of the hotel, at 201 Park Avenue South, is Host Hotels & Resorts, a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Bethesda, Md. LEM Mezzanine, a Philadelphia-based mezzanine lender that acquired W Union Square in a 2009 foreclosure sale, reached an agreement to settle a series of bankruptcy cases and sell the property to a new venture, led by Host, LEM announced in July. The special servicer of the hotel’s $115 million mortgage, LNR Partners, sought in court papers last month to block a plan that would transfer ownership of the hotel to Host, which owns 109 hotels, or 60,000 rooms globally and owns a stake in a joint venture that owns 11 hotels in Europe, with 3,500 rooms. The firm owns properties under various brands, including Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Westin, Hilton and Marriott. TRD

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Direct impact of Dubai crisis on New York City is limited, experts say

As the international credit crisis spread into the kingdom of the United Arab Emirates, real estate experts said that while any direct impact on New York would be limited, it may signal the inability of sovereign wealth funds to bail out distressed assets here. The financial world briefly shuddered last week after Dubai World, the main investment arm of the powerful Gulf region city-state, asked lenders for a six-month suspension of nearly $60 billion in debt payments. Analysts say the suspension may force Dubai to sell many of its trophy assets around the world, including several high-profile buildings in New York, like the Jumeriah Essex House, the former Knickerbocker Hotel and the flagship W New York-Union Square hotel, whose mezzanine debt is scheduled for a Dec. 8 foreclosure auction. “Dubai got drunk with debt just like we did here in New York,” said Dan Fasulo, managing director of research at Manhattan-based investment research firm Real Capital Analytics. “A lot of people think Dubai [was financing its deals with] oil. In actuality, it was very much of a debt-fueled building boom.” [more]