Roosevelt Hotel: Pakistan and the US Sign Deal to Redevelop Manhattan Landmark

It has sat empty in the heart of Midtown Manhattan for years, a century-old landmark caught between a storied past and an uncertain future. But the Roosevelt Hotel, owned by Pakistan International Airlines since 2000, is finally moving toward a new chapter, and the plot twist nobody saw coming is that the United States government is now involved.

On February 19, 2026, Pakistan's Ministry of Finance announced that both governments had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on the operation, maintenance, renovation, and redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel at 45 East 45th Street in New York. The MoU was signed by US General Services Administration Administrator Edward C. Forst and Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, and was witnessed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who negotiated the deal under the leadership of President Donald Trump. The Pakistani government has estimated the property could be worth $1 billion given its prime Midtown Manhattan location.

A Century of History, a Decade of Uncertainty

The Roosevelt Hotel opened in 1924 as part of a broader development push around Grand Central Terminal. Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, it became one of Midtown Manhattan's most recognized addresses. Guy Lombardo's band played there on New Year's Eve for 30 consecutive years. The hotel appeared in films including The French Connection and Wall Street. Pakistan International Airlines first leased the property in 1979 and eventually acquired full ownership in 2000. The hotel closed permanently at the end of 2020 after running at a loss for years.

Between 2023 and 2025, the building served a very different purpose, becoming New York City's main intake shelter and processing center for asylum seekers under a lease agreement with the city worth $220 million. That lease was canceled at the start of 2025 as the migrant crisis eased, and the building has sat vacant since.

A Long Road to a Deal

Pakistan's attempt to monetize the Roosevelt Hotel has been anything but straightforward. PIA hired prominent brokerage JLL in 2024 to market the property for either an outright sale or a joint venture development partnership. The campaign attracted interest from major names including Tishman Speyer, SL Green, and Related Companies, but JLL resigned in July 2024 citing conflicts of interest with clients considering bids on the property.

In January 2026, Pakistan's privatization commission reset the hiring process after five of seven proposals were rejected for non-compliance. Around the same time, Pakistan's privatization adviser Muhammad Ali ruled out an outright sale entirely, opting instead for a development-led strategy in which Pakistan would contribute the land into a joint venture while a development partner would put up approximately $1 billion in equity. Then came the surprise: the White House.

The Witkoff Factor

The involvement of Steve Witkoff in what is essentially a commercial real estate transaction in Manhattan raised immediate questions in New York's real estate community. Witkoff is the founder of The Witkoff Group, a development firm that financed the Times Square Edition and the Faena hotel in Manhattan, and has served as Trump's Special Envoy for major international negotiations including Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine talks. One Manhattan power broker told the New York Post simply: "Unbelievable." Others speculated that the deal could be a long-term play for Witkoff given his deep roots in Manhattan hotel financing.

The GSA's involvement is equally unusual. The agency typically manages federal government properties and does not ordinarily partner with foreign governments to redevelop privately owned assets. It was not immediately clear under what authority the GSA would facilitate the project, and a GSA spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

The MoU establishes a structured, time-bound framework for evaluating the technical, commercial, and economic aspects of the cooperation. Financial terms were not disclosed. Pakistan's Finance Ministry stated that the objective remains to secure maximum value for the property in alignment with its privatization strategy while strengthening Pakistan-US economic ties.

Pakistan currently owes the IMF $7 billion as part of a bailout program and has been working to monetize government-owned assets. PIA itself was sold in December 2025 to a consortium led by Arif Habib Corporation for Rs135 billion.

The Roosevelt Hotel sits one block from Grand Central Terminal, surrounded by some of Manhattan's most expensive new office towers including SL Green's 1 Vanderbilt and JPMorgan Chase's new $5 billion headquarters at 270 Park Avenue. Real estate analysts consider it a prime site for a new commercial tower. Whether this latest agreement finally translates into action after years of false starts remains to be seen, but the Roosevelt has never had a more powerful cast of characters involved in its future.