Chang sells Pearl Street property to Hersha

32 Pearl Street (Source: Propertyshark) and Sam Chang

Hotel developer Sam Chang has sold property at 32 Pearl Street in
Lower Manhattan to Hersha Hospitality Trust for $28.7 million, Real
Estate Weekly reported. He had bought the lowrise, along with the
adjacent 6 Water Street, for $56 million in 2008. The small buildings
remained standing even though Chang initially planned a tall hotel at
the site. Ashish Parikh, CFO of Pennsylvania-based
Hersha, told REW that it plans to build an 81-room Hampton Inn at 32
Pearl Street and is not buying 6 Water Street. But Hersha does not
intend to tear the property down, and instead plans a rehabilitation and converstion by adding additional floors to the seven-story
building. The conversion is expected to cost around $4.5 million and
be completed in the first quarter of 2012, according to Hersha.
Chang’s McSam Hotel Group has been selling several properties in
recent months, and Hersha, a longtime partner of Chang, has been a
frequent buyer. Hersha bought the Hyatt Union for $104 million in
June. [REW]