Williamsburg hotel project up for bankruptcy sale

Owners of planned 26-story tower at 159 Broadway filed for bankruptcy in 2020

Renderings of 159 Broadway in Williamsburg (Cornell Realty Management, Rosewood Realty Group, iStock)
Renderings of 159 Broadway in Williamsburg (Cornell Realty Management, Rosewood Realty Group, iStock)

A Williamsburg hotel project is up for grabs in a bankruptcy sale more than four years after plans were filed for the tower at 159 Broadway.

The project, which is under construction, is being marketed by Rosewood Realty Group, the Commercial Observer reported. Bidding for the project will start at $28 million.

The owners of the planned 26-story hotel and residential tower, 159 Broadway Member and WB Bridge Hotel, reportedly filed for bankruptcy towards the end of 2020. The former has ties to Cornell Realty Management, sharing an address with Isaac Hager’s firm.

Cornell did not respond to the Observer’s request for comment.

Cornell filed plans at the site in 2018, calling for a mixed-use building with 21 residential units and 235 hotel rooms. The building was set to rise 277 feet tall and span about 96,000 square feet, including 77,000 square feet of commercial space and 18,000 square feet of residential space.

The company paid approximately $26.2 million for the site in November 2017, according to property records.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Read more

Construction is paused at the site but can be resumed by an owner immediately, according to the Observer. The site is in the early stages of excavation. It’s situated in a qualified opportunity zone and includes a 25-year industrial and commercial tax abatement.

Bankruptcy and Williamsburg hotels have combined to make headlines recently. Earlier this month, bankruptcy judge Robert Drain stripped developers Toby Moskovits and Michael Lichtenstein of control of the bankrupt Williamsburg Hotel after it was found they might have committed fraud.

An independent trustee was put in control of the 147-room hotel for the bankruptcy process. Moskovits and Lichtenstein remain the owners, but have been removed from overseeing operations.

[Commercial Observer] — Holden Walter-Warner