Morris Moinian’s Fortuna Realty Group is buying two small apartment and commercial loft properties at 25 and 27 W. 38th St. that will be torn down to make way for a 30-story 175-room hotel.
The project, set to rise near Lord & Taylor between Fifth and Sixth avenues, is being designed by Nobutaka Ashihara, who is also designing Moinian’s 20-story 124-room hotel at 525 Greenwich St. in Hudson Square, The Post has learned. That hotel will overlook the low-rise UPS complex.
The price of the two midblock properties is expected to be about $12 million.
The sellers, Shimshon Klugman’s Quality Capital and Shifra Hager’s Cornell Realty Management, are flipping the buildings for a quick profit. In August, they paid roughly $13 million for four buildings from the longtime family holders.
In March Moinian bought 1150 Avenue of the Americas, where he intends to build a five-star 50-story hotel tower with 400 rooms. He also acquired the legendary Garden City Hotel on Long Island’s Gold Coast.
Moinian did not return calls for comment.
For other developers, Ashihara has designed two dual Courtyard/Residence Inn projects — one at 1715 Broadway and the other at 215 Pearl St.