Joseph Chetrit buys America’s “dirtiest hotel” for $190M

Hotel Carter in Times Square said to require $125M in infrastructure and safety upgrades

From left: Joseph Chetrit and Hotel Carter on West 43rd Street
From left: Joseph Chetrit and Hotel Carter on West 43rd Street

Real estate mogul Joseph Chetrit will pay more than $190 million to buy Times Square’s Hotel Carter.

Chetrit signed a contract last month to buy the 600-room Hotel Carter, also known as the dirtiest hotel in the country, the Wall Street Journal reported. The hotel first opened in the 1930s as the Hotel Dixie. Code violations and a homicide have given the Carter a bad name over the years.

What Chetrit will do with the hotel is still unknown. But Hotel Experts Told The Wall Street Journal that the property needs at least $125 million for safety and infrastructure upgrades.

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A company controlled by the heirs of Vietnamese businessman Tran Dinh Truong is selling the building.

Last year, Chetrit led the consortium that paid $1.1 billion for the Sony Building, where he plans to build condominiums. [WSJ] — Claire Moses