Isaac Chetrit and Charles Aini plan to convert the three-story Garment District retail building at 1420 Broadway into a hotel that is roughly five times bigger, sources told The Real Deal.
The 7,000-square-foot property, located between West 39th and 40th streets, offers more than 34,000 buildable square feet in total. It is one of two adjacent properties on Broadway that Chetrit and Aini bought for a combined $268 million from Jordan Slone’s Harbor Group International in 2014.
The owners are considering a skinny hotel with up to 15 stories and about 80 rooms. Construction isn’t set to begin for another four years, however, as the entire building is currently triple-net leased to Korean café Olive Tree Deli, which occupies the ground floor.
The hotel would connect to a ground-floor retail space at the 24-story, 415,000-square-foot office building at 1412 Broadway next door. The owners have begun marketing the 4,800-square-foot space, which Café Europa is set to vacate by the year’s end, asking rents of $350 per square foot.
Aini confirmed the plans, but declined to comment further. Chetrit runs AB & Sons with his older brother Eli, while Aini runs Aini Assets with his father Jacob.
Meanwhile, the owners are also planning to convert the penthouse office floor and rooftop of 1412 Broadway into a bar and restaurant slated to open August 2017.
The owners have yet to file plans with the Department of Buildings.
Elsewhere in the Garment District, Chetrit, who is cousins with developer Joseph Chetrit, is partnering with Ray Yadidi to build a skyscraper with as many as 80 stories on Sixth Avenue between West 36th and 37th streets.