New York, Ny. – AJ Capital Partners and Cornell University are pleased to announce the start of construction for Graduate Roosevelt Island at the Cornell Tech campus, part of the Graduate Hotels collection. AJ Capital selected Emigrant Bank to provide a $60 million five-year floating-rate construction loan. Jones Lang LaSalle acted as broker for the financing. Cornell Tech, which opened its first phase of the new campus last year, is a revolutionary model for graduate education, extending Cornell University’s research and academic prowess to the heart of New York City.

Created for travelers who seek memory-making journeys, Graduate Hotels are a well-curated, thoughtfully crafted collection of hotels that reside in the most dynamic, university-anchored cities across the country. Every property celebrates and commemorates the optimistic energy of its community, while offering an extended retreat to places that often played host to the best days of our lives. There are currently 10 open and operating hotels across the U.S. and an additional eight hotels under development slated to open by 2020.

AJ Capital Partners will open Graduate Roosevelt Island in Spring of 2020. The 18-story, 224-key hotel is designed by world-class architectural firm, Snohetta. The hotel’s iconic slender profile marks the entrance to the campus while offering guests unobstructed views of the skyline through floor to ceiling windows. The hotel’s comfortable residential aesthetic will reference the history of Roosevelt Island, while also capturing the spirit of innovation inspired by the Cornell Tech campus. The property will include a full-service restaurant, indoor-outdoor rooftop bar with expansive views of Manhattan, and 3,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event facilities.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Emigrant Bank and Cornell Real Property Services, Inc. on our debt financing for Graduate Roosevelt Island,” said Eric Hassberger, Principal and COO of AJ Capital Partners. “To be a part of the Cornell Tech campus as the anchor hotel serving the students, professors, innovators, and entrepreneurs of this pioneering institution is an incredible privilege.”

For more information on Graduate Hotels, please visit www.graduatehotels.com.