From left: Morris Moinian of Fortuna Realty Group and a rendering of the Soho hotel at 525 Greenwich Street

Developer Morris Moinian of Fortuna Realty Group is partnering with his 28-year-old nephew and son of developer Joseph Moinain, Matthew Moinian, to transform a vacant lot at 525 Greenwich Street in Soho into a $60 million hotel, he told The Real Deal today. Construction will begin on the project before the end of the year, he said.

Matthew, who recently graduated from law school, has not joined the family business but is rather investing in the project as an individual.

Fortuna, which bought the former parking garage site for $12.75 million at auction earlier this year, is in negotiations with various management systems to operate the hotel, Morris said, including the InterContinental brand, which operates Fortuna’s Hotel Indigo in Chelsea.  [more]

Just days after Brack Capital announced its intentions to bring a Hotel Indigo to the Lower East Side, word leaks that the firm’s other large Lower East Side parcel will be home to a 96,000-square-foot CitizenM hotel. Curbed reported that the site, 185-191 Bowery near Delancey Street, will be home to 315 “affordable” but “luxurious” rooms with wall-to-wall windows, LCD flatscreens, rainshowers and room lights that can change colors. According to Brack’s website, construction at the Bowery location is set to begin sometime before the summer. [Curbed]

Brack Capital Real Estate, the developer behind the James New York, the Olcott and 15 Union Square West, has just acquired the development site for its latest Manhattan project: a 290-room Hotel Indigo at 180 Orchard Street. The Lower East Side project, a joint venture with InterContinental Hotels Group, will also include retail and parking when it opens in 2013. BCRE and IHG paid $46 million for the site in an all-equity transaction, the partners announced today. Among the property’s planned features: a restaurant, bar, fitness center and outdoor pool. TRD [more]

Hotel Indigo East End at 1830 West Main Street in Riverhead

Hotel Indigo opened its newest location, Hotel Indigo East End at 1830 West Main Street in Riverhead, near the Hamptons, Hotel Chatter reported. Indigo, which is part of the InterContinental brand, is owned by Jaral East End Hotel. Indigo East End is accepting reservations beginning Aug. 15, but it is open now for booking online. The color scheme of the 100-room hotel is inspired by its proximity to the beach, with shades of orange, sea powder and indigo blues, greens and gold. Oversized graphics depict nearby Wine Country and the beach, while the finishes, materials and fabrics have an organic, natural texture, and the wood is inspired by beach driftwood. The hotel’s restaurant, Bistro 72, will serve locally grown, organic ingredients and regional wines. Also on site are a fitness center, a pool, a business center and two meeting rooms. The guestrooms have oversized beds, hardwood floors, spa showers and free Internet. (Note: correction appended) [Hotel Chatter]

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Hotel Indigo East End at 1830 West Main Street in Riverhead

Hotel Indigo opened its newest location, Hotel Indigo East End at 1830 West Main Street in Riverhead, near the Hamptons, Hotel Chatter reported. Indigo, which is part of the InterContinental brand, is owned by Jaral East End Hotel. Indigo East End is accepting reservations beginning Aug. 15, but it is open now for booking online. The color scheme of the 100-room hotel is inspired by its proximity to the beach, with shades of orange, sea powder and indigo blues, greens and gold. Oversized graphics depict nearby Wine Country and the beach, while the finishes, materials and fabrics have an organic, natural texture, and the wood is inspired by beach driftwood. The hotel’s restaurant, Bistro 72, will serve locally grown, organic ingredients and regional wines. Also on site are a fitness center, a pool, a business center and two meeting rooms. The guestrooms have oversized beds, hardwood floors, spa showers and free Internet. (Note: correction appended) [Hotel Chatter]

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From the April issue: Unlike his older brother Joseph, who’s known for splashy condos and hotels, developer Morris Moinian keeps a relatively low profile in Manhattan. But last year, Moinian, 48, the president of Fortuna Realty Group, unveiled Hotel Indigo, a 122-room, ground-up outpost of the InterContinental chain on West 28th Street in Chelsea. And despite the lackluster hotel market, he has plans to expand the brand in Manhattan. Once owner of one of the country’s largest blouse manufacturers, today Moinian focuses solely on his real estate portfolio from a Midtown high-rise with views of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Click here to take a peek at his desk.

Morris Moinian at The Real Deal’s offices

Hotel Indigo, the colorful 122-room newcomer to the Chelsea scene, may soon get a trio of siblings to the north, south and east.

Hotel owner Morris Moinian, 48 — not to be confused with his older real estate developer brother, Joseph, 55 — unveiled the newly-constructed 127 West 28th Street hotel, part of the InterContinental brand, in October, and is now plotting three more Indigo-franchised hotels in Manhattan over the next three to four years, he told The Real Deal yesterday in an in-office interview.

Moinian is president and founder of Fortuna Realty Group, the private real estate company that developed the Dylan Hotel (sold to the HOTUSA Group and Losan Hotels World for $78 million in 2007) and has holdings in New York City, Florida, California and the Caribbean. The Iranian developer said he’s eyeing Tribeca-Soho, the Upper East Side, and Midtown, near Grand Central Terminal, for Indigo’s next landing spots. Ideally, the hotels will be built from the ground up, with 100 to 150 units apiece, he said. [more]

Things are looking up for the New York City hotel industry, which is
celebrating a rebound in occupancy from earlier this year. Manhattan
was the only market in the country, besides New Orleans, to report a
double-digit occupancy, up 10.5 percent this year to 88.1 percent,
according to data from Smith Travel Research for the week ending Dec.
12. While hotel occupancy in Manhattan has risen dramatically from levels
as low as 55 percent, the average daily rate continues to be lower than
record levels achieved in 2007. Nevertheless, the increase in occupancy represents a significant
improvement to a market where more than 30 new hotels have opened
during the year. Many of these new limited-service and boutique hotels,
including Hotel Indigo, Ace Hotel and Crosby Street Hotel, have registered occupancy at nearly 90 percent. From a national perspective, travelers are going to have it good next year. [more]

There are positive signs on the horizon for the New York City hospitality market with figures showing glimmers of good news and new hotels opening. According to Steve Hood, senior vice president of information technology at Smith Travel Research, 15 of the top 25 hotel markets saw an uptick in occupancy for the second week of October, to the overall tune of 27.4 percent. In Manhattan alone, the occupancy rate rose 5.6 percent. In Manhattan, the average room rate decreased by 15.4 percent to $253.61. Even though the city registered a decline, the average room rate was up 27 percent from January’s $199.09 average. Nationwide, occupancy rose 6.5 percent to 63.8 percent. The average daily rate increased 6.3 percent to $119.09 and the revenue per available room rate jumped 13.2 percent to $76.04. With the euro at record highs and the holiday season soon upon us, expect an increase in visitors to the Big Apple. These visitors will have the option of a whole host of newly completed hotels. [more]

Next week, V3 Hotels will begin construction on a 19-story, 130-room boutique hotel on Duffield Street between Willoughby and Fulton streets in Downtown Brooklyn. The ground-breaking for this hotel comes on the heels of construction of three other hotels within the same block, including the 23-story Hotel Indigo, also built by V3, which is slated to open later this year; a 180-room Aloft Hotel, also set to open next year; and a 300-room Sheraton, which is slated to open this fall. [Post] [more]