Cooper Square Hotel: Sale of Shit-Ugly Tourist Trap Digs 'Very Close'

​Rumors of the Cooper Square Hotel's impending sale might be true after all. Gothamist says Hartz Mountain Industries, which owns the Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand hotels, is closing in on a deal to purchase the troubled Cooper Square Hotel. Hartz Mountain reps appeared at last night's Community Board 3 meeting to smooth out some liquor license transfer bureaucracy, and a lawyer told Gothamist they were "very close" to finalizing the sale.

The two-year-old, 21-story-tall hotel has faced troubled times since its opening, including neighborhood noise complaints, having to build itself around a tenement whose owners refused to sell, and narrowly escaping foreclosure after a German bank claimed it'd defaulted on $52 million in loans. (The Hotel eventually negotiated to restructure those loans.)

A hotel publicist would only confirm that the hotel lender was "in negotiation" with a potential buyer. Reps for Hartz Mountain have not yet responded to a request for comment.

[shernandez@villagevoice.com]