Pakistan to re-develop NYC’s Roosevelt Hotel in $4bn JV

Pakistan to re-develop NYC’s Roosevelt Hotel

Pakistan will pursue a high-rise redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York under a joint-venture (JV) privatisation model involving up to $3-4 billion in investment, a plan the government says could lift the value of its stake by up to 250pc, ruling out an outright sale of one of its most prized overseas assets.

Muhammad Ali, the prime minister’s adviser on privatisation, said the 16-storey hotel in midtown Manhattan will be redeveloped rather than sold, as an immediate disposal would fail to capture the site’s full commercial potential.

He said a detailed study conducted last year showed the property could support a much taller structure of 50 to 60 storeys. It was recently transferred to the PIA holding company during the airline’s restructuring. Its Financial Advisory Consortium led by Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc. (JLL) had carried out the study.

Over the past two decades, successive governments have pitched sales, leases or redevelopment plans for the property, but none have moved past the drawing board.

Under the proposed model, the government would contribute the land while a private partner would inject about $1 billion in equity, with an additional $2-3 billion to be raised through debt financing. Following redevelopment, the government’s ownership would dilute from 100pc to around 40-50 percent, but officials expect the overall value of its holding to rise sharply.

This century-old hotel is among Pakistan’s most valuable foreign assets. Acquired in 2000, the more than 1,000-room property was shut in 2020 due to mounting losses and later operated briefly as a migrant shelter.

Ali, who also chairs the Privatisation Commission, said there is strong interest from major international players, including global commercial banks and technology firms seeking to develop their own premises at the site. Despite this demand, the government has chosen not to proceed with a direct sale, he said.