The U.S. and Pakistani governments have agreed to work together on figuring out the future of the iconic Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan.
The two parties have “formally launched a strategic economic initiative, including collaboration with the U.S. General Services Administration regarding the operation, maintenance, renovation, and redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York,” the Pakistan government’s finance division said Thursday in a statement.
The South Asian country’s state-owned Pakistan International Airlines owns the century-old property, located at 45 E. 45th St. near the largest U.S. office cluster, which houses such trophy towers as SL Green Realty’s One Vanderbilt and JPMorgan Chase’s new headquarters at 270 Park Ave.
Both governments have signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding, according to the statement. The goal is to “secure maximum value for this property … while strengthening Pakistan-United States economic ties,” it said. The memorandum sets up a “time-bound framework” that’s intended to be a “mutually beneficial progress.”
The engagement was negotiated and led by U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, the statement said. Witkoff, before his current role, was a well-known New York developer and involved with many famed projects including One High Line in the West Chelsea neighborhood, which features 235 luxury residences and a 120-key Faena Hotel.
GSA didn’t immediately respond to a CoStar News request seeking comment.
The new framework to explore the future of the Roosevelt, built in 1924 and in its heyday known as the “Grand Dame of Madison Avenue,” comes as New York’s hotel and office markets have both outpaced the rest of the United States.
The hotel closed its doors in 2020 after the onset of the pandemic, and it reopened in 2023 for just over two years as a migrant intake center. The Pakistani government was said to be looking for a sale originally, and developers including SL Green reportedly were eyeing the property amid demand for trophy office properties in an area that has one of the tightest U.S. vacancy rates.