An Asian investor is looking to unload three floors of residential units at the W Downtown Residences.
The Singapore-based seller — operating behind an anonymous LLC — is seeking $22 million for a block of 24 furnished studios and one-bedrooms at 123 Washington Street in the Financial District. The units are currently in use as extended-stay hotel rooms at the mixed-use hotel-condo, according to marketing materials from Howard Hanna NYC.
The listing is bundled as a single “master unit” under the condo declaration, allowing the owner to run short-term rentals of 30 days or more without seeking board approval, according to listing broker Patrick Walsh of Howard Hanna NYC.
The apartments are currently master-leased to the short-term rental platform Blueground, which furnishes, manages and subleases the units for extended stays, effectively turning the floors into a self-contained rental business. The units can be bought with the master lease in place or delivered vacant, Walsh said.
The entity acquired the units — spanning 14,000 square feet across the 27th, 28th and 29th floors — in 2014 for about $24.7 million, according to property records. Below sits a separate three-floor block of 32 units, which traded in 2015 for $26.9 million to a development and investment firm backed by Chinese capital.
Above, the building rises another 30 residential floors, consisting of rentals and condos. The Moinian Group’s Washington Hotel occupies the bottom 22 floors. Residents get access to hotel perks like concierge service, a rooftop lounge, gym and other amenities. The occupancy rate last year was about 94 percent, according to Walsh.
The Moinian-developed building has a tumultuous history. After construction started in 2006, the process was plagued with stop-work orders and stalled by the recession. By 2013, the building was on its fourth sales and marketing team.
But the following year, Moinian set a Financial District record by selling a pair of penthouses for north of $2,400 per square foot.
The hotel has had its own troubles. The W Downtown, which used the address of 8 Albany Street, closed in 2020 during the pandemic. In 2022, Moinian struck a deal with hotel operator LuxUrban to manage the hotel, rebranding it as The Washington. But the beleaguered hotel operator defaulted on its lease two years later and is now locked in a legal battle with the landlord over unpaid rent, according to Crain’s.
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