Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and the Plaza Hotel
The widely reported $600 million offer for the Plaza hotel would not include the stake controlled by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, according to Bloomberg News. Bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company had sold the Plaza to the Elad Group for $675 million in 2004, but then bought back a portion soon after, a spokesperson for the firm said. [more]
From left: Christian Candy, the Plaza and the $25.4 million penthouse
Elad’s final residential apartment in the Plaza Hotel, a three-level penthouse that was nearly sold three separate times, has finally sold for $25.4 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The 6,300-square-foot condominium unit, listed by Stribling & Associates broker Alexa Lambert, was bought by British property developer Christian Candy, famous for building London’s One Hyde Park. Candy, who was represented by Corcoran Group broker Louis Buckworth, said he coveted the unit for its iconic location and plans to use it as a home as he begins to explore development opportunities in the city. [more]
Naftali Group CEO Miki Naftali, the development site at 363 Fourth Avenue and a rendering of the approved project
A Park Slope development site approved for 106 residential units and on-site parking has been sold for $10.7 million, Brownstoner reported. The buyer is the Naftali Group, The Real Deal has learned (note: correction appended).
The lot is 10,801 square feet at the corner of Fourth Avenue and 6th Street and is approved for a building of approximately 10 times that square footage with 43 parking spots. It is slated for 78,883 square feet of residential space, 3,592 commercial square feet, a 639-square-foot community facility and comes with a 15-year tax abatement, according to the listing by James Dario of Kalmon Dolgin Affiliates, which asked $14 million. [more]
From the November issue: You’ve likely zipped past 250 West Street while driving up the West Side Highway. The former fruit-and-vegetable warehouse has arched windows, iron shutters and the words “West Street” stenciled on its Hudson River-facing façade.
The brick building — which takes up an entire square block between Washington Street and the highway — was for years an administrative space for Citibank. Then, in 2006, it was purchased by the Elad Group, the Israeli developer famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) for converting the Plaza Hotel into condos.
Elad started construction on converting 250 West into apartments in June 2011, and just one month later, with a good year left on that construction, the units were brought to the market. So far, so good, said Ariana Meyerson, managing director of Cantor Pecorella, which is marketing the property. As of last month, 250 West had sold 25 of its 106 units, with 11 in contract. [more]
Brothers Gilbert and Jean-Louis Costes, whose Parisian hospitality empire includes Hotel Costes and the celebrity eatery L’Avenue, are eyeing New York’s iconic Oak Room and Oak Bar in the Plaza Hotel for another Costes hotspot, the New York Post reported.
Before making an offer however, they want to make sure they have permission to make “modest” changes to the landmarked trophy interior, including adding additional bathroom space for patrons, the Post said.
The former owner of the Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room, Eli Gindi, decided to close the restaurant amid a bitter dispute with the landlord earlier this year. According to the New York Times, Gindi gave the Plaza a 90-day notice of departure in April, after landlord Elad Group said the Oak Room would have to either cancel its lucrative “Day and Night” Saturday afternoon parties or pay more than twice its current rent. [Post] [more]
Miki Naftali, the CEO and president of Israeli real estate and hotel development conglomerate Elad Group, announced last week that he would step down from the role he’s held for more than a decade in order to start his own company, and The Real Deal got him on the phone to find out more. Naftali, who will retain a 49 percent stake in New York subsidiary Elad Properties, chatted about his new real estate venture, the Naftali Group, and about what will become of Elad in his absence. Meanwhile, Naftali sought to quash rumors that recent retail struggles at the Plaza Hotel — the revival of which was the hallmark of his tenure, at least as far as New York City is concerned — had anything to do with his departure. Click here for the Q & A.
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Miki Naftali has stepped down as CEO of Elad Properties, which owns the Plaza Hotel, the New York Post reported. Despite speculation that controversy in the Plaza Hotel led to his stepping down, Miki Naftali insisted that was not the case. Naftali, who forged the $675 million purchase of the Plaza in 2004, vacated his role to pursue a new venture that includes an investment in an undisclosed mixed-use space in the city. Naftali will hold on to a 49 percent stake in Elad Properties. According to the Post, insiders believed Naftali was under fire from his boss, Isaac Tshuva who owns Elad Properties’ parent company the Elad Group, because of an inability to land long-term tenants in the hotel’s restaurant and retail spaces. [more]
Steve Cuozzo says that the Plaza hotel is on tough times. The building’s lower level Grand Concourse has few restaurants and retail spots, and the space is netting just $150 to $175 per square foot. The hotel’s commercial space — which luxury British retailer Harrods once considered renting — now “has all the charm of a suburban outlet mall,” according to Cuozzo. Kristin Franzese, vice president of retail with the Elad Group, which owns the Plaza, reportedly said that the hotel will be welcoming new stores soon, including two next week, but did not specify which stores are coming.
From left: Pamela Liebman of the Corcoran Group and Dolly Lenz of Prudential Douglas EllimanTwo new additions have been announced for The Real Deal’s fifth annual forum, “Distressed Opportunities: Taking advantage of distress and searching for a real estate recovery.” Dolly Lenz, vice chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman, and Pamela Liebman, president and CEO of the Corcoran Group, will join the all-star panel of real estate executives, analysts and economists. Other panelists include economist Nouriel Roubini, co-founder and chairman of RGE Monitor and NYU professor of economics; Coney Island developer Joseph Sitt, CEO of Thor Equities; Plaza developer Miki Naftali, president and CEO of the Elad Group, and Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. The event, to be held Oct. 14 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, will be moderated by Brian Sullivan, an anchor at Fox Business News. The forum will kick off at 3 p.m. with a networking and exhibition period, followed by the main event at 6:30 p.m. More panelists will be announced. Seating is limited. Tickets cost $80 and can be purchased by clicking here or calling Centercharge at (212) 721-6500. TRD [more]
