Jay-Z’s Hotel Project Halted Due To Economic Crunch

Hip-hop mogul Jay-Z is yet another person affected by the current economic status as his hotel venture has been put on hold due to lack of funding. Jay-Z along with his real estate partner Charles Blaichman had plans of opening the J Hotels in New York's West Chelsea area but are in need of money from investors to complete the project. Due to the economic crisis, securing funding has been no easy task and construction on the hotel has been halted.

According to reports, $5 billion of New York City development projects have been frozen because of the economy. Even the banks who want to give us money can't," Blaichman said in an interview. A prominent New York developer, Blaichman has built over two dozen projects in the past 20 years and is currently having trouble funding two other hotel projects as well. He is in need to $370 million to complete all three hotels.

Jay-Z and Blaichman teamed with partners Scott Blaichman and Abram Shnay to purchase the land that will house the luxury hotel for $66 million. The purchase included the property plus air rights.

Jay-Z also recently sold his successful Rocawear clothing line to Iconix Brand Group for over $200 million dollars. Aside from his business ventures, which include his 40/40 clubs, the mogul most recently received six Grammy nominations for his album 'American Gangster.' The album was released last year to stellar reviews. His latest album 'The Blueprint 3' is due in stores next year.

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Filed Under: Jay-Z

Categories: Hip-Hop