The Westin New York Grand Central
Shot of the hotel from across East 42nd Street. The Daily News Building can be seen to the left.
Hotel chainWestin Hotels
General information
Location212 East 42nd Street
New York City, New York 10017
United States
Coordinates40°45′00″N 73°58′26″W / 40.75000°N 73.97389°W / 40.75000; -73.97389
OpeningFebruary 18, 1981
OwnerDavidson Kempner Capital Management
ManagementHEI Hotels & Resorts
Design and construction
Architect(s)Emery Roth & Sons
DeveloperHarry Helmsley
Website
www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/nyczw-the-westin-new-york-grand-central/

The Westin New York Grand Central is a 40-story, 800-room business-oriented hotel approximately two blocks west of the United Nations headquarters and a little more than one block east of Grand Central Terminal in New York City, New York.

History

The hotel was designed by Emery Roth & Sons and opened on February 18, 1981, as The Harley of New York - A Helmsley Hotel. Constructed by New York developer Harry Helmsley, the hotel's name was a combination of his own first name and that of his famous wife, Leona Helmsley. They co-owned the hotel with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The Helmsleys attended the opening, along with Mayor Ed Koch, but the inaugural luncheon that day was marred by an accidental fire, which necessitated the evacuation of the entire hotel and required 23 people to be treated for smoke inhalation.[1]

The Helmsleys purchased Hospitality Inns from Standard Oil of Ohio in 1981, renaming them to create a nationwide Harley Hotels chain[2] of 27 properties,[3] with the New York hotel as the flagship. Following a renovation,[4] the hotel was renamed The New York Helmsley in November 1985.[5]

Soon after Harry's death, Leona sold the remaining hotels in the Harley chain to a Philadelphia investment group in 1998 for $40 million.[6] After Leona's death in 2007, her estate sold The New York Helmsley Hotel to Host Hotels & Resorts in 2011 for $313.5 million.[7] The new owners contracted with Westin Hotels to manage the property, following an 18-month closure for a $75 million renovation, and the hotel became The Westin New York Grand Central on October 1, 2012. It was sold again on January 11, 2019, to Davidson Kempner Capital Management for $302 million. They plan to renovate it at a cost of $20 million and keep it under the Westin flag.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Treaster, Joseph B. (February 19, 1981). "Harley Hotel Beset by Fire on Opening Day 14". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  2. ↑ Kanner, Bernice (March 12, 1984). "Life With Leona". New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. p. 42. Retrieved July 9, 2018 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ "Helmsley has good instinct". The Daily Chronicle. De Kalb, Illinois. March 8, 1984. p. 25. Retrieved July 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Landers, Peggy (December 27, 1985). "Leona, Queen Of Helmsley--hotels, That Is". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  5. ↑ Lippert, Barbara (November 14, 1985). "Meet Leona Helmsley, the undisputed queen of New York". Poughkeepsie Journal. p. 3D. Retrieved July 9, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Grant, Peter (December 18, 1998). "Parting With Harley Leona Will Pocket About 40M for Hotel Chain". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  7. ↑ Hudson, Kris (January 25, 2011). "Another Helmsley Property Sold Off". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  8. ↑ Bockmann, Rich (January 11, 2019). "Asset manager Davidson Kempner to upgrade Westin Grand Central hotel". The Real Deal.


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