Location: 750 Fifth Avenue (at 59th Street)
Size: 181 condominium units and 152 hotel-condo units
Prices: Starting at $1.5 million – the sky’s the limit
Occupancy: Late 2007
Developer: Elad Group
Architect: Originally Henry J. Hardenbergh; renovations by Costas Kondylis
Interior Design: Gal Nauer
Sales & Marketing: Stribling & Associates
Website: www.theplazaresidences.com

Overview: Buying a Slice of History
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote here. Frank Lloyd Wright visited here. The Beatles were headquartered here in 1964; the Plaza Accord was signed here in 1985; kings and queens have enjoyed royal visits here and every U.S. president since Theodore Roosevelt has spent time here. Occupying the corner of Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, the Plaza Hotel, a French Renaissance château-style building, is steeped in history.

Fans of New York City history have heard a lot about the Plaza’s décor, its beauty and its famous landmarks like the Palm Court, the Edwardian Room, the Oak Room, and the Pulitzer Fountain. Many movies have been filmed at the hotel, beginning with Hitchcock’s masterpiece, “North By Northwest.”

For almost one hundred years, flying the flags of the countries of visiting dignitaries over its Fifth Avenue canopy, The Plaza mirrored the social history of Manhattan: its tastes in design, entertainment, restaurants and accommodations, as well as the Great Depression, two World Wars, the Cold War, women’s rights and British rock-and-roll.

This city’s best chateau defined grandeur for a century and, like a fine wine, it has aged well. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986. In 1998, it was also designated as a literary landmark and eight of its public rooms were declared interior landmarks in 2004.

In 2004 the Plaza Hotel was sold to the Elad development group, and in April 2005 the developers began renovating the hotel with the aim of converting it into 181 condominium units, 134 hotel rooms and 152 hotel condos. The hotel’s historic rooms will be restored to their original 1907 appearance. Even the Palm Court’s glass ceiling, which was removed during the 1940s, will be recreated.

Anybody buying a condo at the Plaza is truly getting a slice of history. There are two separate groups of condominiums. The 152 ‘hotel condominium suites,’ which are being marketed as pied-a-terres, are something like former hotel rooms at the Plaza – only in mint condition. The Palm Suites are about 550 feet and start at $1.6 million; the Plaza and Terrace suites start at $5 million and are considerably larger.

The private residences are a separate ballpark altogether. Starting at $2.5 million per unit, these will be the newest and most unique spaces at the Plaza. The apartment sizes vary widely from 1 bedroom (about 800 square feet) to 5-bedroom, duplex penthouses. The new residents here include Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, who bought an 11th-floor condo for $14 million, and real estate baron Harry Macklowe, who bought several contiguous apartments for close to $60 million, a record-breaking number for New York City – and, quite frankly, the world. Tommy Hilfinger and Flavio Briatore, James Cayne and Jocelyn Wildenstein are also on the the purchasers list.

The “Private Residences” at The Plaza Hotel have their own entrance on Central Park South and a large garden court with cascading fountain at the bottom of the building’s large rectangular lightwell. Entry to the hotel rooms is on the south side along 58th Street.

The bathroom fixtures have been designed exclusively for the Plaza residences. The kitchen will have Nero Marquina stone kitchen countertops (gorgeous) and Callacata Marble tiled backsplashes.

The massive public spaces such as the Terrace Room, Edwardian Room, Grand Ballroom, and Oak Bar are still in place. In addition, because the Plaza is a hotel in addition to a condominium, it offers every possible service, from room service to maid service, to a private butler, to valet parking, to pet care. Everything.

Raves & Faves
Inside the units, a Crestron-style handheld flat-panel screen controls the “interior ambience” – lighting, music, video, telephone, etc. – and also connects residents directly with concierge and security services from the Plaza as well as with restaurants, cultural venues and retail stores.

Units: Layout, Pricing and Availability
The prices of $3,000 to $5000 per square foot are at the top of the market, but condominium residences like the Plaza don’t really count as “the market” because they’re such unusual and important developments, there’s nothing to compare them to. Many of the condo units sold out very quickly. The investment potential of these condo units is considerable – prices will probably just keep going up.

Price ranges for currently listed apartments are:
Studio apartments (510 – 967 sq. ft.) – $1.6 – $2.1 million
One-bedroom apartments (856 – 1160 sq. ft.) – $2.4 million – $3.6 million
Two-bedroom apartments (1384 – 1476 sq. ft.) – $5.2 – $5.8 million

Much larger apartments exist (some are over 4,000 square feet, with private elevators) and, as I mentioned, some buyers are purchasing multiple apartments and combining them.

Come See for Yourself
Interested in buying at The Plaza? Give us a call at 212-220-4633 or 917-603-6224, or email us. As a buyer broker, our services are free to you, and we represent your interests. We’ll be delighted to show you condominium apartments hotel condo suites at The Plaza and other properties. Be sure to ask about our rebate program.

Location & Neighborhood
As one of New York City’s great landmarks, The Plaza Hotel virtually defines its own neighborhood. Centrally located in Manhattan, it has access to top-of-the-line shopping (think Tiffany’s flagship store), elegant restaurants, cultural venues like Carnegie Hall, and, of course, Central Park. The area is well supplied with public transportation – but who needs to go anywhere else?

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