Times Square Edition to reopen as Maefield clears up debt dispute

The developer behind the Times Square Edition has worked out a deal to keep the hotel open.

Following reports that the hotel would permanently shutter after only a year of operations, Maefield Development and its lenders and operator Marriott International have come to an agreement to reopen the property in the fall, Commercial Observer reported.

Marriott gave notice in May that the Times Square Edition hotel, which went dark in March due to coronavirus, would be closing for good in the summer. Last December, lender Natixis moved to foreclose on a $650 million loan on the property at 701 Seventh Avenue, citing “numerous undischarged mechanics’ liens recorded against the property.”

A group of lenders led by Natixis provided a total of $2 billion in acquisition financing and refinancing for the project in 2018. Fortress Investment Group also holds a debt position in the property.

The severity of the coronavirus crisis appears to have persuaded the lenders to resolve their differences.

“Maefield and the lenders desperately wanted to keep the hotel in place because without it, the property would be near-empty during the worst crisis in the city’s history with no prospect of being refilled,” a source told CO.

The hotel had posted solid occupancy and revenue per available room prior to the onset of coronavirus. The reopening timeline will depend on whether New York sees a second wave of infections like the one currently sweeping much of the country.

Meanwhile, 60,000 square feet of retail space at the base of the building is now mostly vacant. An NFL Experience attraction that occupied most of the space closed last year. [CO] — Kevin Sun