Witkoff Group and hotelier Ian Schrager, the developers of the under-construction hotel-condominium at 215 Chrystie Street, refinanced the project with a $173.3 million loan from Starwood Capital Group, documents filed with city Monday show. The debt replaces and consolidates three prior loans from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance.
Schrager and Witkoff are building a 370-key hotel at the Lower East Side site, along with 11 condo residences, 10 of which have already gone into contract, including a penthouse that listed for $23.5 million. The units have a total target sellout price of $118.4 million, filings with the New York State Attorney General’s office show.
The hotel at the 28-story building will take on Schrager’s “Public” brand, one of two such hotels Schrager has said he will bring to Manhattan; the other is planned for a still-undisclosed site on the West Side. Schrager will also open a “Public” hotel at Kushner Companies, RFR Realty and LIVWRK’s Dumbo Heights redevelopment in Brooklyn.
A representative for the Steve Witkoff-led Witkoff Group [TRDataCustom] did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Witkoff And Schrager Acquired The Chrystie Street site from Rubin Schron in 2012, paying $50 million. Schron won the rights from the city to bring a high-rise development to the site after cutting a deal with rent subsidized tenants at The Nearby 10 Stanton Street.
The project lender, Starwood, last year sold a $2 billion stake in its hotel business to China Life Insurance. In Los Angeles, Starwood is said to be close to a deal to buy the 286-key James Hotel from CIM Group.
(To view more commercial sales transactions in the Lower East Side, click here)