Pakistan blocks JPMorgan Roosevelt Hotel sale as the government signals it wants to demolish and redevelop the Manhattan site instead of selling it outright, according to a report citing the Financial Times.
JPMorgan Chase had pursued the purchase for more than a year, sources familiar with the matter said. The Roosevelt sits next to the bank’s new 60-storey tower at 270 Park Avenue and near other properties owned by the firm, making it a strategic target for expanding JPMorgan’s New York campus.
Talks reportedly cooled as Pakistan’s preference shifted toward redevelopment and retaining an ownership stake, rather than a full sale. The process was also affected by the loss of the government’s real estate adviser after JLL withdrew from the role, the report said.
Read: Pakistan US Roosevelt Hotel Redevelopment Agreement Signed
For JPMorgan, the Roosevelt would have been another addition to a growing Manhattan footprint supporting its large local workforce.
The bank has spent heavily on its New York headquarters and surrounding portfolio. It rebuilt its 270 Park Avenue headquarters, is renovating an office building at 383 Madison Avenue, and has considered adding hotel rooms for employees at 250 Park Avenue, according to the report.
However, the Roosevelt Hotel has effectively been taken off the table for an outright sale.
Khurram Schehzad, described as an adviser to Pakistan’s finance ministry and a member of the Privatisation Commission board, said the government has “no plans to sell it outright,” adding that it was a “cabinet decision.”
