ST. GEORGE — The building that formerly housed Karl's Klipper is being sold to become a "high-end" hotel, the fourth planned hotel for the neighborhood.
The building at 32 to 40 Bay streets is in contract to sell to a global investor that plans to build a new hotel there, the Staten Island Advance first reported.
The realtor for the spot, Michael Schneider, said he couldn't announce what brand the hotel would be, but he expects it would be similar to upscale ones already planned nearby.
"I don't think you're going to see a Comfort Inn over here," said Schneider, broker and owner of Schneider Realty Services.
"It's a global investor who sees potential and loves Staten Island," Schneider added. "They love what's happening on Staten Island."
While plans haven't been finalized, Schneider said he expects the spot would be eight to 10 stories tall and between 40,000 to 60,000 square feet.
Schneider could not say the sale price for the spot — since it's still in contract — only that the asking price was $6 million.
The spot is the fourth planned hotel coming to St. George. The nearby Lighthouse Point project includes a $100 million upscale Westin Hotel with 175-rooms and the Empire Outlets complex will have a 190-room hotel in it.
A local developer is also working on turning the former convent at 78 Fort Place into a boutique hotel with a mix of rooms for shorter stays and eight two-bedroom apartments for longer ones.
Schneider said with projects like the New York Wheel and Empire Outlets set to open in the next few years the demand for tourists to stay in the borough will warrant the amount of spots.
"Obviously there's a need for them," he said. "You have all these wonderful things happening in this area."
However, the development of the Wheel hit turmoil this week when the developers fired their contractor and designer, indefinitely delaying the project.
The 40 Bay St. building used to be the home of the bar and grill Karl's Klipper, but the spot was forced to close in 2016 after more than 10 years in business when a buyer was found for the building. The sale also forced the closure of a barber shop nearby.
The spot also houses Bay Street Card Shop and Honor Wines, but Schneider could not comment if they would be forced to closed because of the hotel.
