Last Updated on July 30, 2026 by Daniel Globe
The Roosevelt Hotel at 45 East 45th Street is one of Midtown Manhattan’s best-known historic hotels, but reports about its ownership and future often mix confirmed facts with proposals and rumors. This updated guide from TakeTravelInfo explains who legally owns the property, why it is closed to hotel guests, and what official announcements say about its redevelopment as of July 30, 2026.
Quick Answer
The Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan is owned by PIA Investments Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pakistan International Airlines Holding Company Limited, which is owned and managed by Pakistan’s government. No completed sale to a private buyer has been announced. The property is closed to hotel guests while redevelopment options are pursued.
Key Takeaways
- PIA Investments Ltd. is the legal owner of the Roosevelt Hotel property.
- Its parent, Pakistan International Airlines Holding Company Limited, is owned and managed by the Government of Pakistan.
- No private consortium, hotel chain, bank, or U.S. government agency has been announced as the new owner.
- The building is not currently accepting hotel guests. New York City’s asylum-seeker arrival center at the property closed in June 2025.
- Pakistan is pursuing a joint-venture or mixed-use redevelopment process, but a financial adviser or prospective development partner is not automatically an owner.
- The latest official update says a Citibank-led consortium was selected as the top-ranked bidder to become financial adviser, subject to finalizing the advisory agreement.
Who Owns the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC?
The most precise answer comes from the Government of Pakistan’s official property and financial-adviser documents. They identify PIA Investments Ltd. (PIAIL) as the owner of the Roosevelt Hotel.
PIA Investments Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pakistan International Airlines Holding Company Limited (PIAHCL). That holding company is owned and managed by the Government of Pakistan.
The simplest accurate answer is that the Roosevelt Hotel remains a Pakistan government-controlled property held through PIA’s investment and holding-company structure.
This corporate structure is more specific than saying only that “Pakistan International Airlines owns the hotel.” PIA has long been associated with the property, but the current official documents identify the legal owner and parent holding company by name.
Roosevelt Hotel Ownership at a Glance
Current Ownership and Status
| Legal owner | PIA Investments Ltd. |
| Parent company | Pakistan International Airlines Holding Company Limited |
| Ultimate control | Government of Pakistan |
| Private sale completed? | No completed sale to a new private owner has been officially announced. |
| Current hotel status | Not operating as a public hotel and not accepting ordinary guest reservations. |
| Redevelopment direction | A joint-venture or prospective mixed-use development is being pursued through Pakistan’s privatisation process. |
| Latest official process update | On July 15, 2026, the Privatisation Commission selected a Citibank-led consortium as the top-ranked bidder for the financial-adviser appointment and formed a committee to negotiate the advisory agreement. |
Note: “Privatisation” can cover several transaction structures. It does not necessarily mean that the hotel has already been sold outright. A joint venture may allow the government-controlled owner to contribute the property while another party supplies capital, development services, or both.
Historical Background of the Roosevelt Hotel
The Roosevelt Hotel occupies a full Midtown East block near Grand Central Terminal, with its main address at 45 East 45th Street. It opened on September 22, 1924, and was named in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Official property documents describe it as a 19-story, 1,025-room full-service hotel covering about 600,000 square feet. The building was designed by George B. Post & Son and formed part of the Terminal City development that grew around Grand Central Terminal. The Historic Districts Council describes it as the only surviving luxury hotel designed as part of that development.
The Roosevelt is often called a New York landmark in the everyday cultural sense. That wording should not automatically be read as a claim that every part of the property has formal New York City landmark protection. Formal designation and popular historical importance are separate questions.
Historical correction: The first Kennedy–Nixon presidential debate in 1960 did not take place at the Roosevelt Hotel. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library records that the September 26 debate was held at CBS studios in Chicago.
Previous Owners of the Roosevelt Hotel
The hotel’s ownership and operating history includes several companies and investors. That history can be confusing because management, leases, land interests, corporate ownership, and control of the hotel business did not always belong to the same party.
- 1924: The Roosevelt opened as one of the large hotels associated with the Grand Central-area Terminal City development.
- 1940s–1950s: Hilton took over management and later ownership interests in the hotel. Hilton’s involvement ended in 1956, decades before the late-1970s period described in some inaccurate summaries.
- Late 1970s: Developer Paul Milstein obtained the hotel after a short-lived Loews transaction.
- 1979: A PIA-linked investment venture and Saudi Prince Faisal bin Khalid entered a long-term lease that included an option to buy the hotel.
- 2000: The PIA-and-Prince-Faisal-owned Roosevelt Hotel entity completed the purchase after litigation over the purchase option.
- Later years: PIA consolidated its control of the investment, leading to the current Pakistan government-controlled holding structure.
There is no reliable basis for the claim that Tishman Realty & Construction Company purchased the Roosevelt Hotel in 1999. The documented transaction around that period concerned the PIA-linked ownership entity, its Saudi partner, the Milstein family partnership, and the exercise of the 1979 purchase option.
Why Ownership Rumors Keep Appearing
The Roosevelt occupies a valuable Manhattan site, and several different types of transactions have been discussed over the years. Reports may refer to potential buyers, developers, financial advisers, lenders, government agencies, or joint-venture partners. Those parties can play major roles without becoming the legal owner.
Confusion also comes from the word “PIA.” Depending on the document and date, it may refer broadly to Pakistan International Airlines, its investment subsidiary, or a holding company created to retain assets. For current ownership, the official corporate chain is more reliable than a shortened headline.
Readers should treat any report of a new owner cautiously unless it identifies:
- the buyer’s legal name;
- the seller’s legal name;
- the transaction structure;
- the closing date;
- government or regulatory approvals; and
- confirmation that the transaction actually closed rather than remaining a proposal.
Pro Tip: When reviewing a Roosevelt Hotel headline, check whether the named party is described as an owner, bidder, adviser, developer, operator, facilitator, or joint-venture partner. These terms are not interchangeable.
Has the Roosevelt Hotel Been Acquired by New Owners?
No completed sale to a new private consortium has been confirmed in the official records reviewed for this update. The current owner remains PIA Investments Ltd. under the Pakistan government-controlled holding structure.
The Pakistan–United States cooperation framework announced on February 19, 2026 did not transfer the hotel to the U.S. government. The memorandum established a structured process for evaluating possible cooperation involving the hotel’s operation, maintenance, renovation, and redevelopment.
Likewise, the selection of a financial adviser does not create a new owner. On July 15, 2026, Pakistan’s Privatisation Commission announced that a Citibank-led consortium was the top-ranked bidder for appointment as financial adviser. The commission also formed a committee to negotiate and finalize the Financial Advisory Services Agreement.
That adviser may help evaluate the property, structure a transaction, contact investors, assess bids, and guide negotiations. It does not become the hotel’s owner merely by providing those services.
Current Status of the Roosevelt Hotel
The Roosevelt is not currently operating as a traditional hotel. Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance reported that the hotel business was shut down in December 2020 to limit continuing losses.
In May 2023, the building began a temporary new role under an agreement involving New York City. It served as the city’s Asylum Seeker Arrival Center and a Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center. The site provided intake, temporary accommodation, medical support, legal assistance, and other services.
The New York City Mayor’s Office confirmed the closure of that arrival center in 2025. The city stated that the facility had opened in May 2023 and assisted asylum seekers across more than 300,000 visits before its functions were transferred elsewhere.
Warning: The Roosevelt Hotel is not currently accepting ordinary hotel reservations. Do not rely on an old booking page, archived rate, map listing, or travel article as proof that rooms are available.
What the Current Ownership Means for the Property
Because the hotel remains within a Pakistan government-controlled holding structure, major decisions are tied to Pakistan’s formal privatisation and asset-management process. That can involve cabinet-level approvals, government advisers, competitive procurement, financial due diligence, and negotiations with prospective investors.
The owner’s stated objective is to unlock the value of the Midtown property. Official documents have considered a joint venture and prospective mixed-use development rather than limiting the project to a simple reopening of the existing hotel.
This distinction matters. A mixed-use project could combine hotel, office, residential, retail, or other uses, depending on the final transaction, zoning review, financing, and approvals. No final public plan should be treated as certain until the responsible authorities announce a completed agreement and approved development program.
Confirmed Redevelopment Steps and Unconfirmed Claims
Several parts of the redevelopment process are confirmed:
- Pakistan has chosen to pursue a transaction involving joint-venture or mixed-use-development options.
- Due diligence and transaction-structure work has been conducted.
- Pakistan and the United States signed a cooperation memorandum in February 2026 covering evaluation of possible operation, maintenance, renovation, and redevelopment arrangements.
- In July 2026, a Citibank-led consortium was selected as the top-ranked bidder for the financial-adviser appointment.
Other frequently repeated claims are not yet confirmed by a final public agreement:
- that a particular private developer owns the hotel;
- that the property will definitely reopen as the same type of hotel;
- that the existing building will definitely be preserved in full;
- that it will definitely be demolished and replaced by a tower;
- that specific guest rooms, restaurants, or ballrooms have approved renovation plans;
- that construction or reopening will occur on a specific date; or
- that a named bank, hotel chain, or government agency has purchased the property.
Any of these outcomes may be discussed during planning, but discussion is not the same as a completed transaction or approved construction project.
How Future Ownership Could Change
The ownership structure could change if Pakistan completes an outright sale, transfers an equity interest to a joint-venture partner, grants a long-term development right, or uses another approved transaction structure. The exact result will depend on the final agreements.
A joint venture may preserve some level of Pakistan-controlled ownership while bringing in private capital and development expertise. An outright sale would be different because the buyer would acquire the relevant ownership interest after all conditions were met and the transaction closed.
Until such a closing is officially announced, references to “new owners” are premature.
Public and Industry Interest in the Roosevelt Hotel
The property attracts attention because of its history, location near Grand Central Terminal, large site, and redevelopment potential. Preservation advocates may focus on the building’s architectural and cultural value, while investors may focus on zoning, development rights, construction costs, and the value of a large Midtown parcel.
Those interests do not always point toward the same outcome. Restoring the existing hotel, converting it to another use, combining old and new construction, or replacing it with a larger mixed-use project would involve different costs, approvals, and preservation questions.
For that reason, claims that the hotel will simply be “restored to its former glory” are too definite without an approved plan. The future may involve restoration, major alteration, redevelopment, or a combination of approaches.
The Legacy of the Roosevelt Hotel
The Roosevelt Hotel remains closely associated with the growth of Midtown around Grand Central Terminal. Its large public rooms, long hotel history, and prominent location made it a recognizable part of New York’s hospitality landscape for nearly a century.
Its more recent role also became part of that history. From May 2023 through June 2025, the building served as a major arrival and support center during New York City’s response to increased asylum-seeker arrivals.
The hotel’s legacy therefore includes several distinct chapters: its original Terminal City role, decades as a major Manhattan hotel, international ownership through a PIA-linked investment, its 2020 shutdown, its temporary humanitarian use, and the current search for a financially workable future.
The Future of the Roosevelt Hotel
The Roosevelt’s future remains active but unsettled. Official announcements show that Pakistan continues to pursue a transaction and has taken steps to appoint a new financial adviser. The February 2026 cooperation memorandum also created a framework for evaluating possible redevelopment cooperation with the United States.
However, there is still no verified public announcement of a completed ownership transfer, final development partner, approved building design, construction schedule, or hotel reopening date.
The most reliable approach is to separate the confirmed facts from forecasts: Pakistan’s government-controlled investment structure still owns the property, the building is closed to hotel guests, and a joint-venture or mixed-use redevelopment process is moving through advisory and evaluation stages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC?
PIA Investments Ltd. owns the property. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pakistan International Airlines Holding Company Limited, which is owned and managed by the Government of Pakistan.
Was the Roosevelt Hotel sold to new owners?
No completed sale to a new private owner has been officially announced. Pakistan is pursuing a redevelopment or privatisation transaction, but the existing government-controlled ownership structure remains in place.
Does the United States government own the Roosevelt Hotel?
No. The February 2026 memorandum between Pakistan and the United States established a cooperation and evaluation framework. It did not transfer ownership to the U.S. government.
Is Citibank the new owner of the Roosevelt Hotel?
No. A Citibank-led consortium was selected in July 2026 as the top-ranked bidder for appointment as financial adviser. A financial adviser helps structure a transaction but does not own the property.
Is the Roosevelt Hotel open for bookings?
No. The building is not currently operating as a traditional hotel and is not accepting ordinary guest reservations. No confirmed public reopening date has been announced.
What happened to the migrant arrival center at the hotel?
New York City opened the arrival and humanitarian relief center at the Roosevelt in May 2023. The city closed the center in June 2025 and transferred its intake and support functions elsewhere.
Will the Roosevelt Hotel be renovated or demolished?
A final outcome has not been publicly confirmed. Official documents contemplate joint-venture and mixed-use redevelopment options, but no completed agreement or approved design establishes whether the existing building will be restored, altered, or replaced.
When was the Roosevelt Hotel built?
The Roosevelt Hotel opened on September 22, 1924. Official documents describe it as a 19-story property with 1,025 rooms.
Why is the Roosevelt Hotel historically significant?
It was designed by George B. Post & Son as part of the Terminal City development near Grand Central Terminal and operated as a major Midtown hotel for nearly a century.
Sources
- Government of Pakistan: Roosevelt Hotel financial-adviser RFP — current ownership structure, opening date, room count, property description, and proposed transaction.
- Pakistan Privatisation Commission: July 2026 adviser announcement — selection of the Citibank-led consortium as top-ranked financial-adviser bidder.
- Government of Pakistan Press Information Department: February 2026 cooperation framework — Pakistan–United States memorandum concerning evaluation of hotel operations and redevelopment.
- New York City Mayor’s Office: Roosevelt arrival-center closure — dates and functions of the city facility operated at the hotel.
- Historic Districts Council: The Hotel Roosevelt — architectural history and its relationship to Terminal City.
- John F. Kennedy Presidential Library: First Kennedy–Nixon Debate — confirms that the September 26, 1960 debate took place at CBS studios in Chicago.