Crain’s New York Business: Marriott Vacations scoops up a dozen commercial condos for $98.6M
By Eddie Small
January 22, 2021
Marriott Vacations Worldwide is continuing to buy up its building at 33 W. 37th St., even in the face of a bleak environment for the city’s hospitality industry.
The company, which used to be a wholly owned Marriott subsidiary before it spun off in 2011, purchased 12 commercial condo units at the property from the private equity firm 54 Madison Partners for about $98.6 million, property records show.
Marriott Vacations plans to buy the Midtown property in three tranches. It scooped up a prior tranche at the beginning of last year for about $86.4 million, according to company spokesman Ed Kinney and property records.
Marriott Vacations and 54 Madison partnered to buy the building in 2016 for $105 million. It is home to the Marriott Vacation Club Pulse—a time-share—and the well-known rooftop bar Top of the Strand.
Representatives for 54 Madison did not respond to a request for comment.
New York’s hospitality and tourism industry is in a much different place now than it was when Marriott Vacations purchased its tranche of units last winter. Covid-19 has hurt the industry, and a recent report from the Hotel Association of New York City found that only half of hotel owners and general managers think the sector will recover from the pandemic’s impact. About 200 local hotels closed temporarily or permanently as of late September, the report said.
Multiple real estate deals in the hospitality sector have taken place, though, despite the pandemic. Prolific hotel developer Sam Chang has sold his projects at 338 W. 39th St. and at 140 W. 28th St. for $31.5 million and more than $147 million, respectively. Ashford Hospitality Trust sold its Embassy Suites by Hilton at 60 W. 37th St. to a firm linked to the Magna Hospitality Group for about $115 million.