NEW YORK — Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) has sold the 252-room Dumont NYC in New York for $118 million. The transaction marks Pebblebrook’s exit from the New York market.
The upper upscale hotel is located at 150 E. 34th St. at Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. It was built in 1986. The buyer was LeFrak Organization, which plans to convert the hotel into apartments, according to The Real Deal.
Dumont NYC was previously part of a six-hotel portfolio Pebblebrook held with joint venture partner Denihan Hospitality Group. Denihan Investments completed a redemption agreement with Pebblebrook that transferred ownership of the jointly owned hotels in October.
Denihan became the sole owner of four of the assets. This included The Benjamin, Fifty NYC, Gardens NYC and Shelburne NYC for a total of 917 rooms. Pebblebrook assumed full ownership of Dumont NYC and Manhattan NYC, totaling 870 rooms. Manhattan NYC was then sold to a joint venture between Sioni Group, Patriarch Equities and Highgate for $217.5 million. It was rebranded as the Stewart Hotel.
Proceeds from the Dumont NYC sale will be used for general business purposes, which may include reducing Pebblebrook’s outstanding debt or repurchasing some of the company’s common shares.
“With the completion of this sale, we have now completely exited the New York market,” says Jon Bortz, Pebblebrook’s chairman, president and CEO. “To date, our strategic disposition plan has generated a total of $581.8 million in gross proceeds, and we’re pleased with the success we’ve achieved as we continue to take advantage of the disparity between private market values and public market values.”
Pebblebrook Hotel Trust is a publicly traded REIT that acquires and invests primarily in upper upscale, full-service hotels in urban markets throughout major gateway cities. The company owns 28 hotels with a total of 6,970 guest rooms. Pebblebrook’s stock closed at $33.53 per share on Tuesday, June 20, up from $25.09 one year ago.
— Nellie Day