#Luxe Times Square Edition hotel to reopen June 1

In a surprise happy ending to the city’s most convoluted luxury-hotel saga, the Times Square Edition will reopen on June 1 – even as its skyscraper home races toward foreclosure.

It was just last May that the 452-room pleasure palace at Seventh Avenue and West 47th Street was scheduled to close permanently. Notice of the closure, originally planned for August 2020,  had even been given to employees and government and union officials.

The soon-to-be-reopened hotel boasts the glamorous, ninth-floor Terrace restaurant run by celebrated chef John Fraser, several fashionable bars and performance spaces, and giant LED lights overlooking Times Square.

The hotel is the largest portion of 701 Seventh Ave., a 42-story, mixed-use building which chief lender Natixis is attempting to seize from defaulted landlord Maefield Development.

Although a judge in March allowed Natixis to foreclose, the action must wait until the precise amount of indebtedness is determined, a source told The Post. It was not known how long the process would take.

Until the limbo ends, 701 Seventh Ave. is still owned by Maefield, led by Mark Siffin, which defaulted on a $600 million Natixis mortgage nearly two years ago. The loan was part of a much larger debt package involving Maefield, several partners, and principal and mezzanine lenders that could total as much as nearly $2 billion, sources said.

Maefield’s contract with Edition brand owner Marriott International remains in force. “It is not terminable in the event of a sale or change of control,” a company insider said.

The Times Square Edition was doing strong business prior to the virus-driven closure in March 2020. However, the larger property included 60,000 square feet of mostly empty retail space – putting the squeeze on Maefield.

Marriott later announced that the shutdown would become permanent in August.

Marriott didn’t spell out the reason, but it’s believed that the publicly traded company feared that embattled Maefield would be unable to make payments on the hotel’s management contract.

An open-ended shutdown could also make Marriott liable for pass-along real estate taxes and other expenses while receiving no revenue, insiders speculated.

Without Marriott’s high-profile Edition brand, which was conceived by design guru Ian Schrager, “The property had much less value,” a source said. However, the talks dragged on despite repeated reopening rumors.

Meanwhile, the New York Edition – a different Marriott hotel with no connection to the Times Square situation – reopened on May 11.

Natixis declined to comment. Maefield did not respond to multiple requests for comment.