Algonquin Hotel may be sold

The Algonquin Hotel, the landmarked, 174-room property that’s been bought and sold four times in the last 15 years, may be about to change hands once again. According to the Post, HEI Hotels & Resorts is negotiating to sell the 59 West 44th Street property to Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, a MassMutual-owned investment group that manages 37 hotels and has a debt portfolio of 34 loans on 45 hotels. The Algonquin — famous for its feline mascot (Mathilda now has her own email address), and for the one-time daily Round Table writers’ meetings begun by Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Robert Sherwood — last changed hands in 2005 for $74 million, or $425,000 per room. HEI’s $35 million mortgage on the property was on a Real Estate Alert watch list last year, when the hotel also joined the Marriott brand as part of its Autograph collection. Room rates for this weekend range from $229 to $359 per night. [Post]