W Union Square
The W New York-Union Square has sold for $185.25 million, according to city records, in a deal that closed Sept. 2. The buyer of the hotel, at 201 Park Avenue South, is Host Hotels & Resorts, a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Bethesda, Md. LEM Mezzanine, a Philadelphia-based mezzanine lender that acquired W Union Square in a 2009 foreclosure sale, reached an agreement to settle a series of bankruptcy cases and sell the property to a new venture, led by Host, LEM announced in July. The special servicer of the hotel’s $115 million mortgage, LNR Partners, sought in court papers last month to block a plan that would transfer ownership of the hotel to Host, which owns 109 hotels, or 60,000 rooms globally and owns a stake in a joint venture that owns 11 hotels in Europe, with 3,500 rooms. The firm owns properties under various brands, including Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Westin, Hilton and Marriott. TRD