For every square Foot of New york City , especially in hospitality , there is a billioN dollars sitting on the sideline waiting to jump in . so why sell ?
Global Update
FortuNa thinks big in nYC
Morris Moinian ’ s Fortuna Realty Group in New York City wants to be among the biggest hotel owners in the city . The closely held company has made an impressive start , and now Moinian has hired Ashish Lall as his new head of acquisition to identify a fund partnership to fuel expansion in New York and , longer term , in the likes of Chicago , Miami and San Diego .
The Iranian émigré who moved to Great Neck , New York , when he was 15 and began buying real estate at age 20 today has a hotel portfolio that includes the Hotel Indigo in Chelsea and the Garden City Hotel in Long Island , as well as the newly opened jewel box Hotel Hugo , a 122-key lifestyle property in SoHo ’ s newly coined neighborhood of Hudson Square . He also just bought another major site for a few hundred-room hotel in Midtown Manhattan , which will close in a few months . In addition , in December he submitted a letter of intent to develop a 4-star hotel at a planned casino development in Philadelphia .
“ We have several thousand rooms in the pipeline ,” says Moinian , who began his business career in 1979 with the establishment of Chattanooga Manufacturing , which expanded to become one of the largest women ’ s apparel suppliers to big-box retailers such as Macy ’ s
The 122-key Hotel Hugo is opening this month in SoHo ’ s newly coined Hudson Square area .
and Sears . “ Currently , we are designing and building a 176-room Aloft in a fantastic location on 38th off 5th Avenue . We also acquired the old Pan Am Magazine building at Avenue of the Americas between 43rd and 44th Streets . We have collected air rights and are preparing to design and build a 40- to 50-story tower with a 400-room luxury hotel . The brand direction is unknown , but we will likely work with a well-known brand .”
Moinian is also an investor in the fledgling Mr . C ’ s brand from Beverly Hills , California . He says the investment group is seeking sites in New York City and Miami , adding that locations to fit the Mr . C ’ s brand are hard to find .
In terms of operating philosophy , Moinian says it is all about timing , professionalism and a design focus . “ We make decisions quickly , unlike large hotel companies ,” he says . “ Frankly , that is money . We can buy a site and have a hotel up and running within 18 months , whereas with others it would take several years .”
To date , Fortuna has operated with very few partners and a philosophy that does not welcome leverage . “ I don ’ t welcome debt ,” Moinian adds . “ We hope to have a fund partner in 2014 , and the target is US $ 500 million .”
Put this in bold :
For every square Foot of New york City , especially in hospitality , there is a billioN dollars sitting on the sideline waiting to jump in . so why sell ?
– Morris Moinian
18 HOTELS January / February 2014 www . hotelsmag . com