New York REIT Is Selling Viceroy Hotel Two Years After Buying It for $148.5 Million

New York REIT is now selling its leasehold interest in Viceroy Hotel in New York, just two years after acquiring it for $618,000 per key or $148.5 million.

According to The Real Deal, New York REIT CEO Michael Happel has assigned Adam Spies of Eastdil Secured to market the property.

Earlier reports from Bloomberg News stated that competitor SL Green Realty is close to finalizing a deal of acquiring New York REIT including its portfolio of 23 properties for an undeclared price. Happel endorsed a sale of the firm in November. It is unclear how the Viceroy's leasehold sale will affect the deal with SL Green.

The 240-key, 29-story hotel located at 120 West 57th Street was built in 2013 and has a total size of 128, 612 square feet. It was the very first hotel that New York REIT - previously called New York Recovery REIT - acquired.

The hotel can be delivered fully unencumbered by the Viceroy brand. That means a new owner could outsource the management to operate and rename the property.

The average profit for an available New York City hotel room is dropping by 12.9 percent every year and the average occupancy hits just 68 percent, which is a 4.7 percent annual drop. However, Happel said that the hotel is performing well, regardless of weak hotel market.

An article from NY Post said that when Viceroy Hotel opened in October of 2013, its 240 rooms, which are designed by Roman and Williams, cost more than $599 per night.

The Viceroy was developed by ARK Real Estate. The architects from the Standard and the Ace made the dark building more like a man cave with brass fixtures and dark woods. Chef Marc Murphy of the Gerber Group leads the food in its restaurant in Kingside.