New York”s hotel supply is dwindling by one. The famed Jane Street Hotel in the West Village, which once catered to sailors, charging 25 cents a night, has been acquired by Jeff Klein’s JK Hotel Group, which closed on the $62-million sale just prior to Christmas.
The sale was first reported by the Commercial Observer.
The group plans to convert the historic hotel into a private club.
The hotel was sold by Jane St. Hospitality, which acquired the hotel in 2008 for a reported $27 million.
Klein, who had been in contract to acquire the hotel, announced in February his plans of purchasing the 114-year-old hotel and turn the ballroom into a restaurant reserved for members of his San Vicente Bungalows club. Member perks will include a screening room for unreleased films, a billiards room, living rooms, a dance room and a private entrance separate from the entrance for hotel guests. Klein also plans to convert the rooftop bar into a private outdoor lounge.
Klein is also the owner of the Sunset Tower Hotel in Los Angeles’ West Hollywood.
The hotel’s rooms will remain open during the renovation of the other parts of the property. Details of the conversion became known earlier this year, when Klein presented pans to the West Village Community board.
Before the hotel became a famed party destination in the 2010s, frequented by the likes of Lindsay Lohan and the Olsen sister, it housed the American Seamen’s Friend Society Sailors’ Home and Institute. Built in 1908, the hotel housed survivors of the Titanic after the ship sank in 1912. The building was taken over by the YMCA in 1944 and sold to restaurateur Sean MacPherson, Eric Goode, Ira Drukier and Richard Born for in 2008 under Jane St. Hospitality name.
For an in-depth account of the hotel and its interesting history, check out this piece in the New York Times.