Herald Square Demolition Filer Is Jeff Sutton's Wharton Properties
The demolition filer we could not trace to any city record a week ago is Jeff Sutton's own Wharton Properties, and the hotel it is clearing the block for was approved four years ago.
- Source Briefing
- Public record
- Also reported by Commercial Observer
The Herald Square demolition filer we reported on September 15 as untraceable to any city record has a name after all. Commercial Observer reports it is Jeff Sutton’s Wharton Properties, clearing two low-rise buildings at 21-29 West 34th Street, across from the Empire State Building, for a 340-key hotel, and that a $50,000,000 pre-foreclosure dispute with lender Helaba over the site was settled last month with Wharton regaining control.
Why it matters
The hotel is not a new plan. DOB NOW’s own record shows a New Building job filed in April 2021 and approved in July 2022 for a 26-story, 340-unit hotel on the larger lot, owner of record Wharton Properties, four years before any outlet put a name to this block. What changed is not the design, it is that the site is finally clear to build it: the September 11 demolition filings we could not tie to an owner are the mechanism, and Wharton’s own approved permit is the destination.
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The numbers
Wharton borrowed $50,000,000 against 29 West 34th Street from Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen (Helaba) in August 2018, recorded through 29 West 34 Owner LLC at Wharton’s own Fifth Avenue address. ACRIS shows that loan moving twice in 2026: an assignment recorded June 29 sent it from Helaba to 29 W. 34th Street Holdings LLC, and a second assignment recorded July 15 sent it on to 29 W. 34th Street Lender LLC, both routed through Manhattan law firm addresses. That is the paper trail behind Commercial Observer’s account of a pre-foreclosure suit settled last month with Wharton back in control of the site.
The approved hotel itself runs 204,801 sq ft of floor area, 299 ft tall, on a footprint of about 17,398 sq ft. Commercial Observer reports Sonder, the original operator behind an April 2022 lease at the site, collapsed into bankruptcy in late 2025, and that no new operator has been named for the 340 keys.
What’s next
Both September 11 demolition jobs sit in Plan Examiner Review. Once they clear, the approved 2022 hotel filing is what gets built, unless Wharton amends it. Neither Wharton nor Keyah, the hospitality firm tied to the filing contact on the demolition jobs, responded to Commercial Observer’s requests for comment.
See our original report on the untraceable demolition filer and more coverage in the New York market.
Quick answers
- What is the latest on 21-29 West 34th Street?
- The Herald Square filer we could not trace in September is Jeff Sutton's Wharton Properties, clearing two lots for a 340-key hotel already approved by DOB.
- Who is developing 21-29 West 34th Street?
- Wharton Properties, Keyah Real Estate Group and Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen, according to Commercial Observer.
- What are the key numbers for 21-29 West 34th Street?
- Approved hotel, 26 stories: 340 keys; Approved floor area: 204,801 sq ft; 2018 Helaba mortgage: $50M; Assignments moved the loan in 2026: 2.
On the record
DOB NOW's own New Building record for the site, filed in 2021 and approved in 2022, already names Wharton Properties as owner and specifies a 26-story, 340-unit hotel of 204,801 sq ft, four years before Commercial Observer named the company. That filing is what the September 11 demolition jobs are clearing the block for.
Public record · a810-dobnow.nyc.gov
Primary record
- Our coverageOur own September 15 reporting could not trace the demolition filer, 27 West Keyah Development LLC, to any deed, mortgage or ACRIS party record on either lot. Wharton Properties, the entity DOB's approved hotel filing names as owner, is a different, findable party, which is the gap this piece closes.Read our earlier story
- NYC Open Data, ACRIS Real Property MasterAssignment of mortgage, CRFN 2026000198519, recorded July 15, 2026
- NYC Open Data, ACRIS Real Property Parties$50,000,000 mortgage and consolidation, 29 West 34 Owner LLC c/o Wharton Properties to Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen, recorded August 13, 2018
Also reported by
- Commercial ObserverWharton Properties Files to Demolish West 34th Street Buildings for 340-Key Hotel
- The American DeveloperHerald Square Demolition Filer Appears in No City Record