Just a month after the ultra-luxury Aman New York hotel opened its doors in the iconic Crown Building on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, the hotel’s parent, Aman Group, is exploring a sale with a long-term management contract tied to it.
Aman Group is working with brokerage JLL and investment bank UBS on the potential sale of the property within the century-old Crown Building as part of its “asset-light” operating model, a spokesperson told CoStar News, declining to specify how much the company is seeking.
The move to explore a potential sale comes as luxury hotels have led the recovery in demand in New York’s hospitality market from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The average daily rate of luxury hotels in New York has jumped at a faster pace than that of all hotel types across the city. The average rate among luxury hotels in the four weeks through July 9, for instance, increased 34% to $543 from $405 during the same time in 2019, more than double the 16% increase of the city average to $288, according to hospitality analytics firm STR, a unit of CoStar Group.
In another sign of high-end demand, the Ritz-Carlton in July opened its second Manhattan location in the NoMad neighborhood to attract young, affluent travelers.
Aman Group owns or partly owns 16 of 34 Aman-branded hotel buildings around the world, with the rest employing a similar management model, the spokesperson told CoStar, adding the sale will help “release capital to develop future projects.” Aman Group has received “a lot of interest from potential buyers” as the hotel has seen “incredibly strong demand” and has commanded a minimum of $3,600 per room each night since its Aug. 2 opening, the spokesperson told CoStar.
A sale would only involve floors four to 26 of the property, with the retail portion of the building at the bottom owned by third parties, the spokesperson said.
Aman New York, besides 83 guest rooms and suites, also includes 22 exclusive condominiums. Owners have a private entrance and access to three dining venues, a jazz club, a wine room, and a 25,000-square-foot Aman Spa.
All but three of the residences have been sold, with interest expressed in the last three, the Aman Group spokesperson told CoStar.
The luxury hotel and residence project, developed by OKO Group, has secured $754 million in financing from JPMorgan Chase. OKO is led by Aman Group CEO Vlad Doronin.
One of the Aman New York condos was selling for $55 million, one of New York’s priciest residential transactions so far this year, Walker & Dunlop, which structured the loan from JPMorgan, said in July.
The Crown Building, located at 730 Fifth Ave. by 57th Street and opened in 1921, was the first home of the Museum of Modern Art. It was renamed in 1983 for its crown-like appearance when illuminated.
Bloomberg News previously reported Aman Group’s plan to explore a sale of the property.