Plaza Hotel - NYC Closing !
Jan 26th, 2005, 06:37 PM
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Plaza Hotel - NYC Closing !
The Plaza Hotel, the New York landmark where children's book heroine Eloise romped and Neil Simon's movie "Plaza Suite" unfolded, will close at the end of the April and reopen next year as a condominium-hotel-retail complex, its owner said on Wednesday.
At its reopening, scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2006, the hotel at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue that looks like a baroque stone wedding cake overlooking Central Park and Grand Army Plaza, will contain about 200 luxury condominiums and 150 hotel rooms. The hotel now has 805 rooms.
The condominiums will range from one to four bedrooms on the top 12 floors of the building as well as some lower floors facing Central Park. The new hotel rooms will be located on lower floors along the property's 58th Street side.
Miki Naftali, whose company Elad Properties paid $675 million in August for the hotel, said he's already fielding inquiries for condominiums.
"So many people are calling us, some obviously high-profile people," Naftali told Reuters. "What we say is that when we're ready, we'll call them back. It's such a unique property."
Many of the calls are coming from foreign buyers taking advantage of the favorable exchange rates.
"The Plaza is the most well-known hotel in the world," he said. "So many people are attached to the story in movies. They just want to have the opportunity to buy."
When asked about the prices, Naftali said, "It's really premature. We're still working on the design."
Naftali said he expects to begin marketing the properties in the summer.
In addition to "Plaza Suite," the hotel's movie appearances include Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest," "The Way We Were," "The Great Gatsby," "Barefoot in the Park," "Funny Girl" and "Cotton Club."
A MAKEOVER WITH RESPECT FOR HISTORY
The new Plaza also will contain 150,000 to 160,000 square feet on five or six levels for a department store "even more exclusive than Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman or Harrods of London," Naftali said in an earlier statement on Wednesday.
Plans call for The Plaza's Grand Ballroom, Palm Court and its famed Oak Room restaurant -- which will close at the end of the month -- to remain intact without undergoing any structural changes.
Elad Properties had the right to convert the entire building into condominium homes, but chose "a far less profitable" mixed-use plan "out of respect for The Plaza's historical significance and continuing importance as one of New York City's most popular visitor destinations," Naftali said in a statement.
Elad has hired a New York-based design team consisting of Gal Nauer of Gal Nauer Architects and Costas Kondylis & Partners to design the renovation. Tishman Realty & Construction Co. will serve as construction manager for the project.
The transformation from hotel rooms to residential space brings the site back to the intentions of its first owner, Jared Bradley Flagg, who bought the property in 1880 with plans to erect an apartment building. Those plans were later scrapped and after a series of other developers' plans went bust, an unfinished apartment building opened in 1890. That was demolished in 1905, and in 1907, the current building, designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh, opened its doors.
Originally, The Plaza served primarily as a residence for wealthy New Yorkers, such as Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt.
Some of its best-known guests include the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Beatles, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Donald Trump bought the hotel in 1980s. He and his second wife, Marla Maples, were married there.
At its reopening, scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2006, the hotel at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue that looks like a baroque stone wedding cake overlooking Central Park and Grand Army Plaza, will contain about 200 luxury condominiums and 150 hotel rooms. The hotel now has 805 rooms.
The condominiums will range from one to four bedrooms on the top 12 floors of the building as well as some lower floors facing Central Park. The new hotel rooms will be located on lower floors along the property's 58th Street side.
Miki Naftali, whose company Elad Properties paid $675 million in August for the hotel, said he's already fielding inquiries for condominiums.
"So many people are calling us, some obviously high-profile people," Naftali told Reuters. "What we say is that when we're ready, we'll call them back. It's such a unique property."
Many of the calls are coming from foreign buyers taking advantage of the favorable exchange rates.
"The Plaza is the most well-known hotel in the world," he said. "So many people are attached to the story in movies. They just want to have the opportunity to buy."
When asked about the prices, Naftali said, "It's really premature. We're still working on the design."
Naftali said he expects to begin marketing the properties in the summer.
In addition to "Plaza Suite," the hotel's movie appearances include Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest," "The Way We Were," "The Great Gatsby," "Barefoot in the Park," "Funny Girl" and "Cotton Club."
A MAKEOVER WITH RESPECT FOR HISTORY
The new Plaza also will contain 150,000 to 160,000 square feet on five or six levels for a department store "even more exclusive than Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman or Harrods of London," Naftali said in an earlier statement on Wednesday.
Plans call for The Plaza's Grand Ballroom, Palm Court and its famed Oak Room restaurant -- which will close at the end of the month -- to remain intact without undergoing any structural changes.
Elad Properties had the right to convert the entire building into condominium homes, but chose "a far less profitable" mixed-use plan "out of respect for The Plaza's historical significance and continuing importance as one of New York City's most popular visitor destinations," Naftali said in a statement.
Elad has hired a New York-based design team consisting of Gal Nauer of Gal Nauer Architects and Costas Kondylis & Partners to design the renovation. Tishman Realty & Construction Co. will serve as construction manager for the project.
The transformation from hotel rooms to residential space brings the site back to the intentions of its first owner, Jared Bradley Flagg, who bought the property in 1880 with plans to erect an apartment building. Those plans were later scrapped and after a series of other developers' plans went bust, an unfinished apartment building opened in 1890. That was demolished in 1905, and in 1907, the current building, designed by Henry J. Hardenbergh, opened its doors.
Originally, The Plaza served primarily as a residence for wealthy New Yorkers, such as Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt.
Some of its best-known guests include the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Beatles, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Donald Trump bought the hotel in 1980s. He and his second wife, Marla Maples, were married there.
Jan 26th, 2005, 06:52 PM
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I'd be willing to bet the Oak Room will continue and maybe the Palm Court as well.
How silly that anyone would even be asking the price of a condo in The Plaza. You either want one or you don't. Anyone who asks the price clearly doesn't want one. These will be for people who never ask a price.
On the other hand, that means the major disappointment of so many people who thought they were splurging when they booked a room at THE PLAZA only to arrive and find a shoebox of a room in need of a facelift. All because they took the cheaper rooms which weren't anything to write home about.
I think it has to be a misprint that they will "reopen next year". How is a transformation like that possible in a year, when they haven't even started the design process yet?
How silly that anyone would even be asking the price of a condo in The Plaza. You either want one or you don't. Anyone who asks the price clearly doesn't want one. These will be for people who never ask a price.
On the other hand, that means the major disappointment of so many people who thought they were splurging when they booked a room at THE PLAZA only to arrive and find a shoebox of a room in need of a facelift. All because they took the cheaper rooms which weren't anything to write home about.
I think it has to be a misprint that they will "reopen next year". How is a transformation like that possible in a year, when they haven't even started the design process yet?
Jan 27th, 2005, 04:28 AM
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To respond to two of Patrick's comments:
1. It is not a misprint. The new own says he expects the facility to reopen in 2006.
2. The Oak Room and Palm Court are likely to remain, but may have different names.
1. It is not a misprint. The new own says he expects the facility to reopen in 2006.
2. The Oak Room and Palm Court are likely to remain, but may have different names.
Jan 27th, 2005, 05:13 AM
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Given the price of condos in NYC it's a wonder that more hotels aren't converted. I was dissapointed when that hotel right in front of Lincoln Center (can't remember ts name...) was refurbished as condos instead of a hotel. If you're going in to the city just for an event at LC there aren't that many good options really close. I guess the thing that feels especially bad about The Plaza is that this sort of transformation makes a landmark location feel even more private and exclusive.
Jan 27th, 2005, 05:38 AM
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Howard, both your comments are amazing. I can't imagine the work being done in a year that they're talking about -- although I guess from January 2005 to December of 2006 could be almost two years. Maybe they are talking about "part" of the project opening then -- like the redone hotel rooms. Who knows.
And they didn't ask me (I wonder why) but doesn't it seem like bizarre management that would change the names of the two most important landmarks within the hotel? Wouldn't keeping the names of the Oak Room and the Palm Court be one of the greatest marketing tools you can imagine? "Greet your dinner guests over cocktails downstairs in the world famous Oak Room, then whisk them upstairs to your own apartment's spectacular dining room for a private dinner catered by our staff of world class chefs as you dine looking out over Central Park". Sounds sellable to me.
And they didn't ask me (I wonder why) but doesn't it seem like bizarre management that would change the names of the two most important landmarks within the hotel? Wouldn't keeping the names of the Oak Room and the Palm Court be one of the greatest marketing tools you can imagine? "Greet your dinner guests over cocktails downstairs in the world famous Oak Room, then whisk them upstairs to your own apartment's spectacular dining room for a private dinner catered by our staff of world class chefs as you dine looking out over Central Park". Sounds sellable to me.
Jan 27th, 2005, 06:36 AM
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Patrick, the new owner's comment about the potential name changes was a very broad one, i.e., they "might" change the names.
Another interesting comment by the owner: He said it was have been more financially advantageous to convert the entire building to condos. But because of the Plaza's long history and reputation, he felt that at least part of the facility had to remain a hotel.
Another interesting comment by the owner: He said it was have been more financially advantageous to convert the entire building to condos. But because of the Plaza's long history and reputation, he felt that at least part of the facility had to remain a hotel.
Jan 27th, 2005, 06:37 AM
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The NY Post reports today that the Oak Room will indeed re-open, though the Times implies it will be under outside management... the ballroom is likely to be gone. (For those interested in the story, the NY real estate blog www.curbed.com is following the story pretty closely.)
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