Plaza Hotel’s buyers-to-be are in talks with Louis Vuitton parent for retail makeover

Shahal Khan and Kamran Hakim, the would-be buyers of the gold and marble-accented Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, are in talks with French luxury brand company LVMH for new retail stores at the building, The Real Deal has learned.

Khan’s Chimera Group and Hakim recently signed a hard contract to buy the majority stake in the Plaza from Subrata Roy’s Sahara Group for $600 million, as TRD first reported Thursday.

Sources familiar with the talks say about 50,000 square feet of shop space, which is accessible from East 58th Street entrance, is in play. The sources emphasized that no deal has yet been reached, however. LVMH’s retail brands include Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, Dior and Bulgari.

It was unclear which shops would ultimately come into the space and which existing retailers would vacate. Current shops at the Plaza include jeweler Maurice, fragrance company Krigler and art book seller Assouline. The hotel’s retail component totals 160,000 square feet.

A representative for Khan’s Chimera Group declined to comment. A representative for LVMH in France did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In 2011, with the basement-level retail shops struggling, then owner Elad Group began an expansion of the Todd English-branded food hall on the same floor.

If Khan and Hakim close on the majority stake purchase of the Plaza, they will be in partnership with the current minority owners, Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation and Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company. Khan and Hakim plan to finance the purchase of the Plaza with a more than $400 million loan from the Reuben brothers. They have roughly seven weeks to close the deal.

In February, a Louis Vuitton-anchored retail package in Soho sold for $83 million to Aidan Brooks.