Real estate bigwig Joseph Chetrit is in contract to but the Hotel Carter, long known as New York City's filthiest, most disgusting hotel, for $190 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Carter, which has been named the "dirtiest hotel in America" three times by TripAdvisor and looks, somehow, even worse than you'd imagine, was put on the market in 2013 after its owner, Vietnamese businessman Tran Dinh Truong, died the previous year. (There is also a chance of the sale getting held up for some reason, as Tran, who was worth $200 million, did not leave a will and his heirs have been feuding since his death.) Despite its reputation, the Hotel Carter's Times Square location has made it a viable business and an attractive site for developers.
It is unclear as of yet what Chetrit's plans for the hotel are, but according to some experts that the Journal consulted, it needs "at least another $125 million for safety and infrastructure upgrades." Chetrit also owned the Hotel Chelsea for a brief and tumultuous period and his efforts to redevelop it alienated and infuriated all of the longtime residents. He ended up selling the building to King & Grove last August. Perhaps he figured if he couldn't have New York City's most iconic hotel, at least he could have the city's grossest.
· Joseph Chetrit Cuts Deal to Buy Hotel Carter in Times Square [WSJ]
· Hotel Carter coverage [Curbed]
· Joseph Chetrit coverage [Curbed]
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