Pakistan is back to square one with its attempt to sell the multi-billion-dollar Roosevelt Hotel project site.
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.
The 1920s era, 1,205-room hotel is a prime office development site that’s available at a time when developers are eager to build new commercial towers for tenants willing to pay a premium for the newest, best spaces. But the new RFP comes after a few failed attempts to come up with a deal for the site over the past year.
The Pakistani government in 2024 hired JLL to market the property either for an outright sale or a joint venture development partnership. JPMorgan kicked the tires and Shahal Khan’s Burkhan World Investments pitched a plan to co-develop the site.
But no agreement materialized and in July JLL resigned. The company cited a conflict of interest from clients who were interested in bidding on the site. But considering that brokerages deal with that potential conflict every day, the explanation was seen as a gracious way for both sides to part ways.
Pakistani officials at that time said they were intent on fast-tracking the process of hiring a new advisor, and in late November, it was reported that a team of CBRE and Morgan Stanley was the frontrunner to win the assignment. The Pakistani government said there was increased interest in the site after New York City terminated its contract to use the hotel as a migrant shelter.
But 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.
Many in New York’s development community, however, remain skeptical as Pakistan’s bureaucratic government has waffled over what to do with the hotel since acquiring it in 2000.
Pakistan is privatizing the Roosevelt along with other government-owned assets as part of a $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
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