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The sale is dead. But questions surrounding the future of Manhattan’s famed Pierre hotel remain very much alive.
Residents of the East 61st Street co-op — some of whom are among the wealthiest people in America — last week escaped a highly contested $2 billion buyout that would have forced them from their homes over a proposed renovation to turn their building into a hotel and residence managed by the Dorchester Collection. Once completed, they would have been offered an option to buy back in.
But now, a week after the Pierre’s would-be buyer Motasem Khashoggi — a cousin of the late Saudi arms dealer Adnam Khashoggi — failed to deliver a $100 million deposit by the Oct. 13 deadline, shareholders now face a brand new nightmare: unanswered questions regarding how the building’s necessary, and extensive, repair needs will be financed.
“We’re still in the process of understanding … how we move forward,” one building resident told The Post. “There’s so many different components that need to be figured out — and will be.”
Khashoggi, for his part, claims he had the funds but that his bank had delayed the wire transfer for weeks, according to the New York Times.
The deal’s collapse removes the immediate threat of residents being forced out, but leaves the building’s repair needs shrouded in mystery. The co-op must now work out a renovation and funding plan with Taj Hotels, the building’s current operator.
A Pierre shareholder familiar with the discussions said the board has commissioned a new engineering report to determine the price of repairs. Previously, according to Vanity Fair, engineers hired by the co-op’s board previously identified at least $182 million in upgrades.
But that figure has also varied, and residents say they don’t know what to believe.
Taj previously reported repairs to the tune of $300 million. Separately, a person familiar with the building on Tuesday told The Post repair costs edged closer to $400 million.
Some repairs would be Taj’s responsibility, while other costs could be shared with the co-op’s residents — some of whom include fashion designer Tory Burch, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison and Trump’s secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick — in the form of assessments, the shareholder said. The final division of costs, and whether shareholders will face stratospheric monthly bills, remain unresolved as negotiations continue.
“We won’t know the extent of it,” the resident said.
Sources told The Post the aging property needs renovation. Engineering studies identified water intrusion and corroded pipes. Some work predates the failed sale: according to Vanity Fair, the facade is already undergoing a $22 million overhaul.
Another shareholder told The Post residents could remain during these renovations and expressed optimism about restoring the property without displacement. Still, no final agreement has been reached.
“It seems … very disconnected,” they said.
For longtime residents, the Pierre represents a home and community, the source said, describing elderly neighbors who have lived there for decades and employees regarded as family. The prospect of having to leave had caused significant anxiety, particularly among residents in their 80s and 90s.
Despite the air of uncertainty inside the building’s walls and what’s to come, there is still some pressure off shareholders’ shoulders.
“I am relieved,” longtime resident Tina Beriro told the New York Times last week in the wake of the deal’s collapse. “A group of old lady widows and divorcées — look what we did!”
Residents were divided over the proposal. Some wanted to remain regardless of the payout, while others favored selling. Former Disney chief Michael Eisner, for example, criticized Taj’s management and reportedly supported a deal.
David Johnson, president of the co-op board, declined The Post’s request for comment.