FelCor Buys Manhattan’s Knickerbocker Hotel in Venture for $115 Million
FelCor Lodging Trust Inc. (FCH) bought the Knickerbocker Hotel in Manhattan in a joint venture for $115 million as the real estate investment trust expands in New York.
The property at Broadway and 42nd Street was purchased in partnership with an affiliate of Highgate Holdings LLC, Irving, Texas-based FelCor said today in a statement. The Knickerbocker is FelCor’s third property in New York, and its redevelopment will be completed late next year, according to the statement. FelCor also said it is marketing 16 hotels and plans to use money from the sales to reduce debt.
The REIT is focusing on large, urban markets such as New York and expects to get about $350 million in gross proceeds from the sale of the hotels, which include properties in Orlando, Toronto and San Antonio. FelCor “has received strong interest from potential buyers” and anticipates selling most of the hotels this year, according to the statement.
FelCor intends to eventually sell as many as 40 hotels, or 72 percent of its suburban properties and 44 percent of its airport hotels, as part of its realignment strategy.
The company rose 2 cents to $3.81 yesterday in New York trading. The shares have lost about 46 percent in the past year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Louis in Chicago at blouis1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Taub at dtaub@bloomberg.net
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