The Private Residences at the Plaza, New York
In the iconic city of New York, there is only one truly iconic hotel: the Plaza.
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In the iconic city of New York, there is only one truly iconic hotel: the Plaza. In operation since 1907, the legendary Central Park haven has hosted foreign dignitaries, matinee idols, silver screen queens, society belles and presidents. It was here in 1968 that Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton met the press to promote Doctor Faustus. And in 1955, Kay Thompson introduced the world to Eloise, the precocious 6-year-old who called the Plaza home.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
The Plaza Hotel’s famous gilded elevators. Photography by Elad Properties (Click image to enlarge)
The current owners, Elad Properties, bought the Plaza in October 2004 with the intention of restoring it to its 1907-era glamour. A $350 million renovation, which includes the creation of 182 private full-ownership residences, is finally underway. "My instruction was very simple," says Miki Naftali, president of Elad Properties. "I want to go back to 1907. Let’s remove all the layers the owners put on and create it again."
After liquidating the hotel’s assets in April 2005 (a
once-in-a-lifetime sale for which some 6,000 New Yorkers lined up around the
block), Elad’s contractors, led by architect Gal Nauer, began unveiling and
restoring the historical details, from recreating the astounding stained glass
on the Palm Court ceiling (it was tarred over to accommodate air-conditioning)
to restoring the 1940s-era Impressionist murals by Everett Shinn in the Oak Bar.
"During the demolition of the interiors, we went through every wall and window
and floor, each of which revealed amazing information," says Nauer. "Then we
took all of that and implemented it into the new design. In the residences, we
put in beautiful parquet floors. When we did the bathrooms, we sifted through
the patterns used in the 1907 building and selected three of them to recreate."; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
A rendering of a living room in one of the planned Private
Residences at
the Plaza. The fireplace was salvaged from the original
1907
interiors. (Click image to enlarge)
The one- to five-bedroom residences, priced between $2.5
million and $33 million-plus (for the penthouse), will face Central Park South
and Fifth Avenue. The 282 hotel units will face 58th Street. No architectural
additions will occur, save an interior one that adds a small floor within the
18th floor to create duplexes (a modification approved during Donald Trump’s
ownership of the Plaza in the 1980s).
While the hotel-condo trend may be the real estate story du jour, hosting full-time residents at the Plaza is nothing new. Frank Lloyd Wright lived here for six years, and long-term guest Cecil Beaton had a room named after him, in which he photographed the camera-shy Greta Garbo. The renovation will give owners of the 782- to 5,613-square-foot residences their own private entrance (at Central Park South) and lobby; the hotel lobby will be accessible from the 58th Street entrance. The remainder of the ground floor will be occupied by retail spaces.
Residential owners will be afforded the Plaza’s full suite of amenities, priced à la carte. "It’s an environment where, if you wish, you can get any type of service," says Naftali, who notes that there will be a touchscreen system in the residences to control different systems in the various rooms.
According to Elizabeth Stribling, principal of Stribling &
Associates and sales agent for the private residences, 25 percent were sold
within the first six weeks of availability. Befittingly, the hotel is scheduled
to open on October 2007—the 100th birthday of the original "Castle in the Park."
The Private Residences at the Plaza
212.588.8000
www.theplazaresidences.com
