During the good times, when all the attention on the W New York Downtown Hotel & Residences?under construction just south of the World Trade Center?focused on the glitz and glamour of the 58-story sex panther, it was 23-year-old developer-in-waiting Matthew Moinian who was charged with the responsibility of talking the project up. But now that Team SHVO has to go to the other side of the world to sell the damn thing, and rumors are swirling that the building is in financial trouble (that million-dollar sales office might have been a bit much), it's time for papa bear to roar. In Lois Weiss' Between the Bricks column today, Joseph Moinian defends his condo-hotel against the nasty rumors. Everything is fine, he says.
There have been persistent rumors that the W New York Downtown Hotel & Residences' condominiums have been languishing and the property is going back to the bank. Nonsense, says developer Joseph Moinian, who said his $250 million in loans, now with PB Capital, are just fine.
Already, more than $100 million in condos have been sold and while he's not selling many these days, he noted he's not alone.
"It's not just us, but anybody," Moinian said. "Take a look at any condos now and it's not the most desirable time to sell."
True, though we're not sure about Moinian's claim that the eventual demolition of the cursed Deutsche Bank building?mere steps away from the W?will help jog sales, especially because it will perhaps be replaced with another big building that will take years to complete. Meanwhile, 34 floors have been poured at the W, and the building will top out in around 75 days. Moinian added, "People want to live in that atmosphere with those levels of finishes and services." Also true, as long as he understands that Patrick Bateman is a fictional character.
· Between the Bricks [NYP]
· W New York Downtown Hotel & Residences coverage [Curbed]
· W New York Downtown Hotel & Residences [Official Site]
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