Hana Alternative Asset Management, a unit of South Korea’s Hana Financial Group, has invested $300 million in a luxury hotel building in Times Square, New York, with a pool of Korean institutional investors.

According to sources from the industry, Hana Alternative Asset Management has successfully drawn $300 million from seven Korean public funds to its real estate fund set up to invest in mezzanine debt extended to Marriott EDITION Times Square and its location.

The total value of the hotel, which is composed of a hotel, commercial space and large billboard, is estimated at $2.9 billion, and the hotel is expected to become another landmark building in Times Square once its construction is completed in June, according to Korean investors.

The Korean investors didn’t disclose the expected yield on their investment in Marriott EDITION but expect a handsome return thanks to the location of the hotel.

Bowtie-shaped Times Square is one of the world’s most populous shopping and tourism destinations. More than 90 percent of hotel rooms in the area had been fully booked over the past five years, and the giant billboard ads in Time Square are frequently captured by media, an industry official said.

The latest hotel investment joins lengthy list of Hana Alternative Asset Management’s investments in blue-chip real estate assets overseas in recent years since its chief executive Cha Moon-hyun took the helm in 2016. Hana Alternative Asset Management’s global fund assets under management have climbed from 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion) to 3.1 trillion won.

The firm last year successfully arranged funds that aim to invest in the headquarters buildings of U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Washington D.C. and DreamWorks Animation in California.

By Yoon Jin-ho and Lee Ha-yeon

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