[NYguy]

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/02/17/pakistan-seeks-new-broker-for-roosevelt-hotel/

Pakistan back to drawing board with $4B Roosevelt Hotel plan
Government seeks new brokers to find JV partner, rules out complete sale of prime dev site


By Rich Bockmann
Feb 17, 2026

The government’s privatization commission is once again trying to find a broker to help monetize the development site at 45 East 45th Street, just across from Grand Central Terminal — which could be redeveloped into a 1.8 million square foot office tower.

The commission put out a call for brokers and financial advisors who have “proven experience of successful completion of similar transactions in [the] New York metropolitan area (more specifically in Manhattan–NYC) or any other metropolitan city of [the] USA,” according to a request for proposals.

….. in January the privatization commission announced that it had hit reset on the hiring process after five of the seven proposals under consideration were rejected for non-compliance. (It’s not clear who the candidates were, but when JLL won the process in 2024, a consortium led by Savills came in second place.)

And this time around, the government has ruled out selling the property outright.

Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif’s adviser on privatisation, Muhammad Ali, said the government is intent on redeveloping the property as part of a JV, according to media reports.

Under the plan the government would contribute the land into the venture and a development partner would pony up about $1 billion in equity, with the JV taking on another $2 billion to $3 billion in debt. The Pakistani government intends to have an ownership stake of around 40 to 50 percent.