Boutique hotelier Ian Schrager and financial partner Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds are putting the Public Chicago hotel up for sale less than four years after it opened, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. Schrager told the news outlet that the hotel market is strong and they would be remiss if they didn’t explore strategic alternatives. Schrager debuted the Public brand in Chicago in October 2011, with plans to roll out several more properties across the country. The new owner of the 285-room hotel, formerly the Ambassador East, will not be required to keep the Public brand name or management contract, the article states. People familiar with the property said Schrager and Morgan Stanley are seeking as much as $300,000 per key, or approximately $86 million. The join-venture had spent about $60 million in the acquisition and renovation of the building.
