Core fund sells Manhattan hotel

Morgan Stanley’s Prime Property Fund is under contract to sell the 655-room Marriott East Side in Manhattan for an estimated sales price of $290 million or $442,748 per unit. The new owner will be New York City–based investor Ashkenazy Acquisitions Corp.

The core, open-end property fund acquired the 35-story full-service hotel in 2005 for $287 million and invested between $24 million and $56.2 million of improvements, according to Real Capital Analytics.

According RCA, the Marriott hotel is the only hotel asset Ashkenazy Acquisitions has acquired this year. The firm, with its joint venture partners, sold the Hilton Garden Inn Times Square Central for $127.2 million in August.

Ashkenazy has been an active investor, particularly in the retail sector. In October, a joint venture between General Growth Properties and Ashkenazy acquired a