Just when it appeared Pakistan was back at square one in figuring out the future of the Roosevelt Hotel, an unexpected partner came along: the White House.
The federal government signed a pact with the Pakistani government, which owns the site at 45 East 45th Street, to jointly redevelop the famed hotel, Reuters reported. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in the memorandum.
Notably, the agreement was negotiated by real estate developer and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, whose presence has been felt in international diplomacy throughout the past year.
The agreement pertains to the cooperation between the parties on the redevelopment, renovation, operation and maintenance of the property. It says the project will be “facilitated by the United States General Services Administration and by the Pakistan Ministry of Defence,” putting the GSA in an unusual position compared to its typical federal property management duties.
The introduction of the federal government is an added complexity to an already winding process.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s privatization commission was reportedly looking for a broker to help monetize the site, which has the potential to be redeveloped into a 1.8-million-square-foot office building.
The Pakistani government in 2024 hired JLL to market the property either for an outright sale or a joint venture development partnership, but after JPMorgan kicked the tires on it, JLL resigned in July, citing a conflict of interest from clients who were interested in bidding on the site.
In late November, it was reported that a team of CBRE and Morgan Stanley was the frontrunner to win the marketing 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 last month, the privatization commission announced it had hit reset on the hiring process after five of the seven proposals under consideration were rejected for non-compliance. Around the same time, the Pakistani government ruled out a sale of the property.
Under Pakistan’s plan, the government would contribute the land into the venture while a development partner would put up about $1 billion in equity; the JV would take on another $2 billion to $3 billion in debt. The Pakistani government aims to have an ownership stake of around 40 to 50 percent.
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