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Aby Rosen to turn Holiday Inn Soho into boutique hotel
RFR Holding paid $89.7 million for 138 Lafayette Street in August
Aby Rosen’s Midtown East-based development firm RFR Holding plans to transform the Holiday Inn Soho into a boutique similar to other properties owned by the real estate mogul.
The hotel at 138 Lafayette Street will close for a sweeping, roughly yearlong renovation starting in January, according to Crain’s. RFR Holding bought the hotel for $89.7 million from the Rhode Island-based Procaccianti Group in August, as The Real Deal reported.
Now the firm plans to turn the 114,500-square-foot, 14-story hotel into a boutique similar to RFR Holding’s Gramercy Park Hotel, Paramount Hotel and the W South Beach. Twelve of the Holiday Inn Soho’s 227 rooms are suites.
RFR Holding plans to expand the hotel’s total retail area to 9,720 square feet and add outdoor balconies to six rooms, according to the developer’s website.
RFR’s purchase came as budget brands have struggled in New York. An expert said regular customers at budget chains chafed at the high rates hotels like Holiday Inn charged in the city.
In August, Rosen received partial demolition permits for his controversial 11-story residential project at 67 Vestry Street in Tribeca, as previously reported. Tenants have fought for the existing structure to be designated a landmark.
RFR Realty is also in contract to buy the Church Missions House at 281 Park Avenue South for $50 million, as The Real Deal reported. [Crain’s] – Shant Shahrigian