Sale of landmark hotel in New York City’s East Side closes

NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2023 – JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group announced today that it has closed the sale of 525 Lexington Ave., a 35-story, 655-key, full-service hotel in New York City’s Midtown East neighborhood. The parties have agreed to not disclose the purchase price.

JLL represented the seller, Deka Immobilien, in the sale to a joint venture of Hawkins Way Capital and Värde Partners. The hotel, which was formerly branded as the Marriott New York East Side, was closed at the time of sale and offered unencumbered by brand and management.

Originally constructed in 1922 as one of the first skyscraper residential hotels, the hotel received landmark status in 2016 cementing its historical significance to Midtown. The transit-oriented hotel is located within walking distance of nine subway lines providing easy access to all five boroughs. The property is also within walking distance of popular tourist sites, including Bryant Park, New York Public Library, Grand Central Terminal, Grand Central Market, Chrysler Building and more.

The JLL Hotels & Hospitality team representing the seller was led by Co-Head of US Investment Sales, Senior Managing Director Jeffrey Davis and Global CEO Gilda Perez-Alvarado, with support from Executive Vice President Stephany Chen and Chairman NY Investment Sales Bob Knakal.

“New York City is experiencing a renewed interest among investors as lodging fundamentals rebound at phenomenal levels. We anticipate continued interest among groups for strategic opportunities as the city continues to recover,” said Davis.

JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group has completed more transactions than any other hotels and hospitality real estate advisor over the last five years, totaling $83 billion worldwide. The group’s 350-strong global team in over 20 countries also closed more than 7,350 advisory, valuation and asset management assignments. Our hotel valuation, brokerage, asset management and consultancy services have helped more hotel investors, owners and operators achieve high returns on their assets than any other real estate advisor in the world.

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DekaBank is the Wertpapierhaus (securities service provider) of the German savings banks. Together with its subsidiaries, it forms the Deka Group. With total assets of 363 billion euros (as of September 30th, 2022) and more than 5.2 million securities accounts under management, it is one of the largest securities service providers and real estate asset manager in Germany.

The Real Estate business division brings together the Deka Group's global real estate expertise. Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH and WestInvest Gesellschaft für Investmentfonds mbH manage real estate assets of around 50 billion euros worldwide (as of December 31st, 2022).

Hawkins Way Capital, co-founded by Managing Partners Ross Walker and Karan Suri, is a vertically integrated real estate company with $2.5 billion of assets under management on behalf of institutions and individuals focused on value-add and opportunistic investments across various asset classes and geographies. Its disciplined approach leverages the principals' investing experience and extensive network to execute strategies that offer long-term value. Hawkins Way Capital has offices in Beverly Hills and New York. For more information, please visit www.hawkinsway.com.

Värde Partners is a leading global alternative investment firm with roots in credit and distress. Founded in 1993, the firm has invested $85 billion since its inception and manages approximately $14 billion on behalf of a global investor base. The firm's investments span corporate and traded credit, real estate and mortgages, private equity and direct lending. Värde has offices in Minneapolis, New York, London, Singapore and other cities in Asia and Europe. For more information, please visit www.varde.com.