Cheng family signs $27.5M refi loan with Cathay Bank for hotel in Chelsea

Hiuian Cheng, Bun Bun Cheng and Siu Ki Cheng through the entity Midtown West Hotel LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender Cathay Bank valued at $27.5 million for the Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan/Chelsea hotel building (H3) at 114-116 West 28th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan.
The deal closed on May 13, 2025 and was recorded on May 15, 2025. The prior lender was Series 2015-C23 which held debt that had an original loan amount of $32.5 million.The property has 48,888 square feet of built space and 14,871 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 59,250 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $562 and the price per buildable square foot is $464 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The owner bought the property on March 29, 2005, for $4.4 million. The signatory for Midtown West Hotel LLC was Hiuian Cheng , Bun Bun Cheng , and Siu Ki Cheng . The signatory for Cathay Bank was Vanessa Siew.

Prior sales and revenue

The owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Hin Cheng, head officer and Hing Cheng, shareholder. The business entities are Chelsea 28 Street Llc and Midtown West Hotel Llc. The 48,888-square-foot property generated revenue of $10.3 million or $212 per square foot, according to the most recent income and expense figures.

The property

The hotel building in Chelsea has 48,888 square feet of built space and 14,871 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 59,250 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 60 feet and is 98 feet deep with a total lot size of 5,925 square feet. The zoning is M1-6 which allows for up to 10 times floor area ratio (FAR) for manufacturing The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $19.7 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $2,850 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on August 20, 2012. On the lot, there are two active new building construction projects and major alteration projects with initial costs more than $5 million, totaling 30,357 square feet. The largest, 121188669, is a major alteration project for a 177-unit, 59,192 square-foot R-1 building submitted by Hiu Ian Cheng with plans filed July 23, 2018 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest, M01109686, is a major alteration project for a 176-unit, 58,039 square-foot 70 building submitted by Hiu Cheng and filed by Hiu Cheng with plans filed January 14, 2025 and it has not been permitted yet.

The neighborhood

In Chelsea, The bulk, or 35 percent of the 52.5 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space. In sales, Chelsea has the 7th highest sale turnover among other neighborhoods in the city with $1.4 billion in sales volume in the last two years. For development, Chelsea has 1.6 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 22nd highest in Manhattan. It had 1.9 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 4 percent of the neighborhood’s built space. There was one pre-foreclosure suit filed among other hotel buildings in the past 12 months.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of nine of the 30 commercial properties representing 606,646 square feet of the 1,319,636 square feet. The largest owner is Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer Registered, followed by Bernstein Real Estate and then Justin Management.
On the tax block, there were three new building construction projects totaling 291,659 square feet. The largest is a 531-unit, 146,630 square-foot hotel/dormitory/shelter (R-1) building submitted by McSam Hotel Group and filed by Sam Chang with plans filed July 28, 2016 and permitted July 20, 2017. The second largest is a 236-unit, 125,729 square-foot hotel/dormitory/shelter (R-1) building submitted by Frank Ng and filed by Frank Ng with plans filed July 12, 2017 and permitted January 2, 2019.

The majority, or 60 percent of the 1.3 million square feet of built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 28 percent of the space.

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