NEW YORK | 45 East 45th St (Roosevelt Hotel) | FT | FLOORS

[NYguy]

The financial advisor should be picked any day now. Meanwhile, more of the same...


https://chakorventures.com/pakistan-moves-to-revive-roosevelt-hotel-with-5-billion-investment/

Pakistan Moves to Revive Roosevelt Hotel with $5 Billion Investment


Bushra Farooq

Government officials indicate that a financial adviser will soon be appointed to design the investment structure and engage potential global partners for the redevelopment initiative.

Authorities are exploring plans to convert the site into a large-scale mixed-use or high-rise development through a joint venture. Under this model, Pakistan would retain ownership of the land while private investors would contribute the required capital.

The move follows a cooperation framework agreed between Pakistan and the United States to support the redevelopment process and help navigate regulatory and zoning procedures in New York.

[Zapatan]

Seems this has potential to be very tall

[NYguy]

https://www.samaa.tv/2087348193-pakistan...lt-hotel-privatization-us-shows-interest

Pakistan accelerates Roosevelt Hotel privatization, US shows interest

By: SHAKEEL AHMED
March 24, 2026

The government has included the Roosevelt Hotel in New York in the active list of the National Privatization Program, signaling a fast-tracked process.

According to sources, the appointment of a financial advisor will be completed after Eid-ul-Fitr to move the privatization forward. US officials have shown interest in investing in the Roosevelt Hotel, particularly in its reconstruction and redevelopment.

An MoU has already been signed between Pakistan and the United States to prepare a joint plan for the deal, including cooperation in operation, maintenance, renovation, and development of the property.

The government will take a final decision on a potential joint venture after consulting the newly appointed financial advisor.

[NYguy]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/us/politics/trump-pakistan-iran.html

After Wooing Trump With Deals, Pakistan Gets a Seat at the Table


By David Yaffe-BellanyBen Protess and Elian Peltier
March 26, 2026

A former real estate developer now assigned to negotiate peace around the world, Mr. Witkoff brokered the unusual arrangement between the United States and Pakistani governments to explore the redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel, a once glamorous building that Pakistan owns.

While the Trump administration has not made the terms of the deal public, a White House official briefed on the matter described it as a potentially lucrative partnership between the two governments to co-own the property.

A month before the Pakistani finance minister sealed the hotel deal there, he signed an agreement to work with an affiliate of World Liberty Financial, the crypto start-up founded by the Trump and Witkoff families.

The White House, however, denied any link between Mr. Witkoff’s Roosevelt Hotel deal and either his family’s crypto firm or his talks with Iran.

“This is a deal that could only be negotiated by someone with the talent and expertise of Special Envoy Witkoff,” Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said of the hotel deal, adding that it came “at no cost to the American taxpayer.” She said that Pakistan “has been an important partner” on a range of issues, including counterterrorism.

….. The property was shut down during the pandemic and briefly reopened as a migrant shelter. Now, the Pakistani government wants to demolish the hotel to develop a new high-rise tower — and it sought Mr. Witkoff’s help.

The deal is a nonbinding collaboration between Pakistan and the General Services Administration, the federal agency that typically buys, builds and manages office space for other agencies.

The next steps are unclear. Pakistan is looking to retain a stake in the property but wants to redevelop it with a partner, according to Muhammad Ali, the chairman of the Pakistani government’s privatization commission.

In an interview at a government office in Islamabad, Mr. Ali said he did not know whether the U.S. government might remain involved in the project, but said the partnership with the G.S.A. was “one big plus” that gave Pakistan “more credibility.”

He said Pakistan would also seek to partner with sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and U.S. real estate developers over the next four to six months.

Mr. Trump’s family real estate business had discussions years ago about a potential deal for the hotel, but has not been involved in any recent talks with Pakistan or Mr. Witkoff about the property, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Mr. Witkoff’s family real estate business also said that it had no involvement and therefore had no comment.

[ChiND]

Things are starting to look promising for this tower.

[The New York Lion]

Originally Posted by ChiND

Things are starting to look promising for this tower.

I want a 2,000 footer here. Give us an outdoor observation deck and they would easily make money hand over fist.

Maybe they could film a famous scene like in City of Angels or Sleepless in Seattle.

We need to think BIG.

[ChiND]

I concur, Lion.

As someone noted on the first page of this thread, something like the Miglin-Beitler sky needle would be nice.



By the way, the Pakistanis are desperately trying to gain Trump’s favor.

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2026/...us-iran-talks-can-latest-peace-push-work

Pakistan ‘ready to host US-Iran talks’: Can latest peace push work?
Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt are trying to broker talks. But analysts caution the chasm between the US and Iran remains wide.


9 14 49 33 50

[NYguy]

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2639923/pakistan

Pakistan picks Citibank-led group as top bidder for Roosevelt Hotel privatization advisory role


ISMAIL DILAWAR
April 14, 2026

Pakistan’s Privatization Commission (PC) said on Tuesday that it has picked a consortium led by Citibank as the top-ranked bidder for the role of financial adviser for the privatization of its Roosevelt Hotel.

The Roosevelt Hotel, a century-old Manhattan property owned by the Pakistan International Airlines through its investment arm, is considered one of Pakistan’s most valuable foreign assets. Islamabad is pursuing a joint venture model rather than an outright sale, seeking a redevelopment partner to maximize long-term value as part of a broader privatization drive agreed under its $7 billion IMF program.

Citibank was among seven international consortia that submitted bids for the financial advisor role last year,a PC official said last year. Global real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) resigned as financial adviser for the hotel’s partial sale in August 2025, citing a conflict of interest due to client involvement.

“In a separate agenda item, the Board approved the consortium led by Citibank as the top-ranked bidder for appointment as Financial Adviser for the privatization of the Roosevelt Hotel, New York,” a press release by the Privatization Ministry said.

“The Board also constituted a negotiation committee to finalize the Financial Advisory Services Agreement (FASA) with the successful consortium.”

Pakistan says it expects the privatization of the Roosevelt Hotel to be completed this year. The property, located near Grand Central Terminal, Times Square and Fifth Avenue, was closed in 2020 due to heavy losses but has since been used intermittently, including as a temporary migrant shelter.

[ChiND]

I have a feeling that this is going to proceed fairly quickly given Witkoff’s involvement.

[NYguy]

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-a...yers-sullivan-cromwell-for-ny-hotel-deal

US Hires Trump Lawyers Sullivan & Cromwell for NY Hotel Deal


Ryan Tarinelli
June 29, 2026

Sullivan & Cromwell, the powerful Wall Street law firm whose attorneys are defending President Donald Trump in court, has been hired to advise the US on the possible redevelopment of the Pakistan-owned Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan.

The firm landed a $1.4 million contract to provide legal services related to the project, public documents show. The General Services Administration limited bids for the work, finding that the effort to restore the hotel is “a matter of national strategic interest,” an agency official wrote in the documents.

GSA requested bids from two other law firms, the agency official said in the documents, which don’t identify those legal operations. The agency said it needed to act fast because a memorandum with Pakistan imposed a 180-day deadline.

“GSA must acquire the services of a premier, multi-disciplinary law firm with an elite track record in large-scale New York City real estate transactions, high-value hotel assets, and international sovereign negotiations,” the agency official wrote. “Any perceived delay or lack of progress by GSA could impair the project and negatively impact the United States’ multifaceted relationship with Pakistan.”

The details of the hotel’s redevelopment and what the countries plan to do with the property are not clear.

GSA said the legal services provided by Sullivan & Cromwell may include “executing the transfer of necessary equity or leasehold rights and interests from Pakistan to the United States or its designee.” The hotel is owned by state-run Pakistan International Airlines Corp. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was involved in negotiations on the collaboration, Pakistan’s finance ministry said.

The hotel agreement has already prompted questions on Capitol Hill.

At a congressional subcommittee hearing in March, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), pressed GSA Administrator Edward Forst on the topic. Larsen questioned the agency’s legal authority to pursue such a project.

“It’s not GSA’s job to do this,” Larsen, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said.

“I can give you more work, if you want it. We’ve got plenty of work for GSA to do,” he said. “I don’t think you need more work that you don’t have authority to do in the first place.”

Forst said Pakistan officials approached Witkoff with the opportunity to collaborate on the property. The memorandum of understanding simply gives the US government the chance to explore opportunities related to the property, he said.

“This is really a first-stage conversation, begin to work together to see if there’s an opportunity that also benefits the US government from a location standpoint,” Forst said. Asked whether the government is planning to buy the property in order to renovate it, he said the memorandum includes no obligations.

[Busy Bee]

It hasn't even begun yet and it already stinks to high heaven.

[NYguy]

^ Brazen is the word that cones to mind, and it’s not entirely clear who’s playing who. But time is running out, so it will be resolved one way or another.