The former Ritz-Carlton hotel in Battery Park City, now known as the Wagner Hotel, has been acquired by Silver Creek Development, a firm based in Scottsdale, Arizona. The property had been closed since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and was entangled in a three-year bankruptcy process.
Silver Creek plans to introduce a new luxury hotel to Lower Manhattan, marking an end to the uncertainty surrounding the site. The previous owners, Urban Commons and its principals Taylor Woods and Howard Wu, accumulated significant debts that included unpaid loans and utility bills. In 2022, Silver Creek purchased the loan on the property and filed suit against Urban Commons after it allegedly defaulted on a $96 million loan.
After Urban Commons acquired the property in 2018 and rebranded it as the Wagner Hotel, financial troubles escalated. The company’s efforts to redevelop a historic ocean liner in Long Beach failed, leading to criminal charges against Woods for investor fraud. Urban Commons’ real estate investment trust filed for bankruptcy in 2020. Both Woods and Wu faced accusations of misusing Paycheck Protection Program funds. In 2021, a Delaware judge referred to them as “fraudsters,” stating they “have a history of wrongful acts and have proven that they are capable of shuffling assets.”
In 2022, Urban Commons placed the Wagner Hotel into bankruptcy protection to stop foreclosure proceedings amid other legal disputes. During this period, additional conflicts arose with residents of condominiums located above the hotel who alleged that Urban Commons had stopped paying its share of common area expenses.
Woods attributed some problems at the property to Ritz-Carlton management practices and also cited delays by Battery Park City Authority in approving redevelopment plans. The Battery Park City Authority controls the ground lease for the hotel.
During bankruptcy proceedings, Woods and Wu were removed from managing operations; a restructuring officer took over instead. Greg Corbin of Northgate Real Estate Group was brought on to manage both bankruptcy matters and marketing efforts for the hotel while Silver Creek provided funding throughout this time.
Represented by Herrick Feinstein law firm, Silver Creek was ultimately approved as buyer after submitting a credit bid exceeding $78 million. In late August, a U.S. bankruptcy judge finalized approval for both sale of the leasehold interest and settlement agreements involving Silver Creek, Battery Park City Authority, labor unions representing hotel workers, and condominium owners’ associations.
The court also dismissed an objection raised by a mechanic’s lienholder which had delayed completion of the sale process.
Neither Woods nor Wu received proceeds from this transaction.
Both have since been charged by federal regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission with securities fraud tied to losses exceeding $70 million across investments in multiple hotels nationwide. Woods has denied most allegations; Wu has not responded.
