Spanish hotel firm pays Glenwood $111M for West Side site

Hospitality firm Riu Hotels & Resorts has paid residential owner and operator Glenwood Management $111 million for a large development site on the West Side. The five parcels on the west side of Eighth Avenue, between 46th and 47th streets, including addresses 743-763 Eighth Avenue, would allow a building between 260,000 square feet and 320,000 square feet, according to published reports.

Last year, Glenwood executive vice president Gary Jacob said in an interview that his firm would build a mixed-use development at the site.

Riu, which was founded in Mallorca, Spain, in 1953, signed the contract to buy the property in March, and the sale closed July 31, city property records published today show.

Travel Weekly reported in June that Riu would develop a 600-room Tower Called Riu Plaza New York Times Square, with an opening set for the middle of 2015, but did not reveal the price or the address.

Glenwood, based in New Hyde Park, L.I., bought the defaulted debt on the property in September 2010 and launched a foreclosure process, finally acquiring title in July 2011. While it is not clear what Glenwood paid for the defaulted mortgage and the deed, it seems it cleared a profit. A note buyer generally pays less than the total outstanding principal, which in this case was $78.6 million when Glenwood launched the foreclosure process in October 2010.