Sold! Or Maybe Not. Separating Mandarin Oriental Fact from Fiction
The Mandarian Oriental rumor has been the juiciest real estate one floating around New York for the last several weeks, but trying to parse reality from fiction has been tricky.
The execs at Istithmar are keeping typically quiet. "We do not comment on market rumors," wrote David Jackson, the CEO at Istithmar, in an email to The Real Estate.
That's the same response a Mandarin Oriental spokeswoman gave The Observer a month ago.
"Several industry sources" told The Real Deal it was a done deal; "sources" told the Post the same.One Real Deal source has each room being sold at $1.4 million; another has it at $2 million. A Post source has it at "approxiamtely $1.6 million."
To say the least, the details are murky.
If you listened to the rumors, the Mandarin Oriental's been in contract since late October. But with a masterful stroke in keeping this deal very quiet, we have a feeling no one will know if it's truly done -- and for how much -- until it closes.
- John Koblin
