Singapore-based real estate investment trust Ascott Residence Trust has acquired the 10-year-old DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York-Times Square South from Magna Hospitality Group for $106 million. The REIT purchased the property through its Barrydale subsidiary as Oversea-Chinese Banking funds the deal with a loan of approximately $65 million.
Magna Hospitality originally acquired the DoubleTree property for $83 million in 2012.
Ascott has worked with Magna in the past when the REIT previously paid Magna about $163 million for the leasehold on the Element New York Times Square West. The trust also bought the leasehold on the Sheraton Tribeca New York Hotel for $158 million.
In May 2017, Ascott also acquired the Hotel Central Fifth Avenue New York with plans to invest about $50 million in renovations and rebranding. The company's first Citadines location in the U.S. is set to open in 2018.
In recent years, East Asian firms have been flocking to New York to invest in its hotel market, mainly in the luxury segment. In 2015, South Korea-based Lotte Group acquired the New York Palace Hotel in a $805-million deal. Prior to this deal, China's Anbang Insurance Group acquired the Waldorf Astoria for close to $2 billion.