Unable to come up with the capital to finance construction, the Dermot Company is no longer redeveloping the landmarked Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan. Instead, private equity firm Stoneleigh Capital appears poised to helm the project.
Tapped for the overhaul in 2006 under the Bloomberg administration, the Dermot Company was building a $150 million hotel addition to the four-story building next the Whitehall Ferry Terminal. The renovation and addition stalled with the project stalled as financial problems mounted for the Manhattan-based developer and landlord. Currently, about 55 to 60 percent of the work is done, Politico reported.
Enter Stoneleigh Capital, which signed a letter of intent with city’s Economic Development Corporation to take over the project. Stoneleigh will increase the number of hotel rooms by chopping the planned restaurant’s size and is looking at finishing the project by the end of 2017, according to Politico.
Under the Dermot plan, the historic Beaux Arts building was to hold 70 boutique hotel rooms, a rooftop restaurant and bar, and the Great Hall was to be renovated and transformed into a public and event space. It has not been released how much Stoneleigh plans to invest in the project.
The Battery Maritime Building, built in 1909, is used as Governor’s Island ferry terminal. A $60 million restoration was completed in 2006. [Politico] — Dusica Sue Malesevic