A Morgan Stanley-backed group appears to have the inside track to become the new financial adviser to Pakistan International Airlines, or PIA, as it decides what to do with the precious Roosevelt Hotel site in Midtown East, sources told The Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
The consortium would replace JLL, which checked out of the role last summer.<\/p>\n
PIA, which answers to the Pakistani government, was recently reported by Saudi Arabia-based daily Arab News to be weighing proposals from seven potential groups to advise on the Roosevelt\u2019s future and to facilitate any deal. The Morgan Stanley team would include CBRE, Manhattan\u2019s most prolific commercial brokerage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The future of the precious Roosevelt Hotel site \u2014 which might be worth more than $1 billion \u2014\u00a0 is in limbo again. Robert Miller<\/p>\n
Nothing about PIA\u2019s plans could immediately be confirmed.<\/p>\n
One source cautioned, \u201cThe Roosevelt owners have played with one scenario after another for at least 10 years and never did anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
A JLL team headed by the firm\u2019s regional CEO Peter Riguardi<\/a> resigned from the account last summer. A Pakistani government agency attributed JLL\u2019s move to its wish to avoid any \u201cperceived or actual conflict of interest,\u201d as the firm represents several clients said to be interested in the site.<\/p>\n Since then, PIA has not announced a new financial adviser, a role that would include essentially brokering an outright sale of the site or a partial sale with a development partner. Arab News claimed that PIA would \u201cfast-track\u201d choosing a new adviser this month.<\/p>\n But one skeptical, prominent Manhattan investment-sales dealmaker said, \u201cWho knows? It\u2019s been a colossal waste of time, mostly because the property is tied to the government of Pakistan and their military leaders which turn over pretty consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n While JLL\u2019s departure was attributed to potential for \u201cconflict of interest,\u201d it isn\u2019t uncommon for major Manhattan brokerages to work both sides of a deal.<\/p>\n \u201cIt often helps to\u00a0make\u00a0a sale or a lease easier,\u201d an insider said. \u201cThey put up a so-called \u2018Chinese wall\u2019 between the two negotiating teams and it generally holds up.\u201d<\/p>\n A JLL team headed by the firm\u2019s regional CEO Peter Riguardi\u00a0resigned from the account last summer. Erik Thomas\/NY Post<\/p>\n Nor is it unheard of for brokers to rep developers hoping to build in the same areas.\u00a0Moreover, JLL\u2019s client list \u2014 which includes both leading developers and tenants \u2014 was no secret to either the brokerage or to PIA when the airline tapped JLL in February 2024.<\/p>\n Riguardi declined to comment. Emails to PIA seeking comment weren\u2019t returned.<\/p>\n As previously reported in The Post<\/a>, Pakistan\u2019s government needs the dough from a Roosevelt sale to help support a $7 billion bailout arrangement with the International Monetary Fund.<\/p>\n The Roosevelt site between Madison and Vanderbilt avenues and between East 44th and East 45th streets is one of Manhattan\u2019s most valuable pieces of land, situated in an East Midtown corridor where prestigious tenants have flocked to new office developments near Grand Central Terminal.<\/p>\n Migrants at the Roosevelt Hotel in 2023. James Messerschmidt for NY Post<\/p>\n