Park Lane Hotel Redevelopment Plans Revealed

The Park Lane Hotel, once ground zero for one of the biggest global fraud scandals in history, is finally getting its makeover.

The Qatar Investment Authority is moving ahead with plans to redevelop the property — which has been called the “world’s greatest site for development” — into a five-star hotel, hotel condos and residences, a source with knowledge of the plans said.

Technical consultants and architects are in the process of evaluating different options for the property at 36 Central Park South, the source said.

Plans to convert the Billionaires’ Row building into condos have been brewing for more than a decade following a series of high-profile scandals. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund bought the 46-story hotel in 2023 from Witkoff Group for nearly $623 million after plans to develop the property fell apart.

Steve Witkoff’s company and Malaysian businessman Jho Low purchased the hotel in 2013 for $654 million, with the intention of converting the building’s 631 rooms into high-end condominiums. In 2016, he and his partners — Harry Macklowe, Howard Lorber’s New Valley and Highgate Holdings — put the new development on hold, believing the Billionaires’ Row market had become too oversaturated.

A few months later, the project seemed back on track after Chinese developer Greenland Group bought a 41 percent stake in the project from Kuwait Strategic Investors.

But shortly after the deal closed, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit aiming to seize the hotel as part of its investigation into Low, who owned 85 percent of the property and was accused of stealing $4 billion from the Emirati sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company.

Witkoff put the property up for sale in 2017, hoping to fetch a price near $1 billion. At the time, JLL’s Jeffrey Davis, who wasn’t involved in the listing, dubbed it “the world’s greatest site for development.”

Despite Witkoff’s high expectations, no one met the steep asking price. The owners refinanced the hotel in 2019 with a $615 million loan from Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan, and the Abu Dhabi fund increased its stake in the property as part of the DOJ’s effort to recover funds. A portion of the proceeds went toward a renovation.

Years later, and the building — developed by Harry Helmsley in 1967 — is still awaiting its big transformation.

The source could not confirm whether the QIA plans to redevelop the existing building or demolish it and build new. It was also unclear whether the plans include any of the neighboring properties.

The medical condo building at 30 Central South has long been floated as a possible addition to the development site. In 2015, Extell Development’s Gary Barnett approached the condo board of the building — a former hotel that now primarily houses dentists’ offices — about a possible purchase, possibly foiling Witkoff’s plans for a supertall at the Park Lane site.

But no deal was ever struck, and condo board president Alain Roizen told The Real Deal he has not fielded any serious offers.

“Not from the right people,” Roizen said.