It was announced Thursday that hotelier Ian Schrager has sold the Gramercy Park Hotel. He began his career in the boutique hotel business in 1984 after owning and operating popular New York nightclub Studio 54. In 2006, he re-opened the Gramercy Park Hotel property after an extensive redesign with the help of friend and artist Julian Schnabel.
The sale did not come as a shock for those familiar with Shrager's expanding hotel empire.
From a press release of the sale:
"It was a very good financial transaction for me," Schrager said of the sale. "I received an offer that was just too good to refuse. However, it is a bittersweet moment as well. I put 110% into that hotel as I do with all of my projects, but it was time to move on and seek new challenges. As always, I am committed to the idea that the future will always be better than the past. Accordingly, I plan to spend all of my time, energy and focus now on creating two new hotel brands for my new private hotel company, SCHRAGER HOTELS, in addition to continuing my work on EDITION for Marriott.
It has not yet been announced who will take over the property or whether the sale influenced the menu's recent makeover.