A boarded-up hostel in downtown Las Vegas, previously owned by the late tech mogul Tony Hsieh, has been sold for more than $3 million.
Apartment landlord George Kanawati acquired the property located at 1322 Fremont St. from Hsieh’s estate, according to property and court records along with business-entity filings.
The sale was finalized on July 11.
Known as Las Vegas Hostel, the property featured dorm rooms accommodating four to eight beds and private rooms, with room rates starting at just $18.
Details about the future plans for the property remain unclear, as Kanawati confirmed the purchase but declined to comment further on the deal.
The brokerage firm Logic Commercial Real Estate had listed the hostel as a “non-operating” property for a price of $3,035,000.
The building spans approximately 21,100 square feet and includes 39 hotel rooms, an attached restaurant, a pool, a lounge area, a coin-operated laundry, and even a theater room, as outlined in marketing materials.
Kanawati purchased the property at the asking price.
Attorneys representing Hsieh’s estate did not respond to requests for comments on the matter.
Tony Hsieh, recognized for his role as the former CEO of Zappos and his influence in the economic revival of downtown Las Vegas, passed away in 2020 at the age of 46 due to injuries sustained in a house fire in Connecticut.
At the time of his death, Hsieh was unmarried and left behind a substantial fortune after selling Zappos to Amazon in a deal exceeding $1 billion.
He also made significant investments in the Fremont Street area, contributing $350 million to a venture initially known as Downtown Project.
Hsieh invested in various bars, eateries, and tech startups, becoming one of the leading property owners in downtown Las Vegas by acquiring apartment complexes, office buildings, motels, and other sites.
By fall 2024, Hsieh’s estate had already sold over $45 million in real estate, but many properties he owned remained unsold, with some attracting nuisance notices from the city due to their deteriorating conditions.
An unexpected twist arose in the estate’s management due to questions about Hsieh’s will.
Richard Hsieh, the late mogul’s father and the court-appointed administrator of his estate, stated previously in court that his son died intestate, without a will.
However, in a surprising turn of events, firms McDonald Carano and Greenberg Traurig filed court documents in April that included a seven-page last will and testament dated March 13, 2015, along with a letter elaborating on its discovery.
The will was found in February among the personal belongings of the late Pir Muhammad, who allegedly suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and was unaware of Hsieh’s death.
The letter did not provide information about Muhammad’s death or his connections to Hsieh.
The will recognized Muhammad as an executor and granted him exclusive possession of the original document to safeguard it from destruction.
Despite this, several acquaintances of Hsieh reported they had never heard of Muhammad, and investigations by the Las Vegas Review-Journal have not confirmed any links between him and Southern Nevada.
Hsieh’s estate attorneys issued subpoenas to the law firms that filed the will, requesting a wide range of documents.
In response, the firms moved to quash the subpoenas, arguing that the demands were overly broad and seemed to be a “fishing expedition,” designed to harass them, according to court documents.
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