Fancy-Pants Condos for Sale at the Plaza Hotel

	The Legendary Plaza Hotel

October 2007 will mark 100 years since Manhattan's Plaza Hotel first opened its doors to the public.

However, the centennial celebration, a milestone for the historic building, will have to wait until a newly renovated Plaza reopens later this year.

For many New Yorkers, the Plaza is much more than simply a hotel.

Within its marble corridors and its tapestry-filled rooms, it encases the memories of legendary events, rich traditions and unprecedented meetings.

In its heyday, the Plaza is where writer Truman Capote hosted his renowned Black and White Ball, the Beatles stayed during their first visit to New York City and white-gloved Park Avenue mothers and daughters gathered for afternoon tea.

Magnificent Makeover

During the last two years, the Plaza has remained closed as it undergoes a $400-million refurbishment led by owner El Ad Properties, which plans to restore the hotel's full grandeur.

As part of its renovation, the real-estate developers have planned to convert the Plaza's original 805 rooms into 282 hotel rooms and suites and, for those looking to call the landmark home, 182 elegant private residences.

The individual privately-owned condominiums -- 90% of which have already been purchased -- are priced from $2.5 million to more than $40 million.

They are available in single, double or three-bedroom suites, four-bedroom duplexes or five-bedroom triplex penthouses and will range from 782 to 6,316 square feet in size.

Each residence will have a unique layout, complete with classic architectural details to keep the room designs in tune with the original European, cosmopolitan-style configurations.

The newly built apartments will have hand-laid, white-oak flooring, towering 9½-to-14-foot ceilings, recessed chandeliers and modern fixture lighting.

Kitchens will feature Nero Marquina marble countertops with white Calacatta backslashes and imported Italian mosaic tiling. They will also include stainless-steel appliances, some of which will be made to blend in with the kitchen's bespoke white cabinetry.

Bathrooms, too, will be adorned in mosaic tiles, replicating the seashell and flower patterns preserved in the Plaza's main lobby. Master bathrooms will have a tub and separate rain shower room, with silver Lefroy Brooks fixtures.

Among the condominiums, some, such as the Frank Lloyd Wright Suite, will be known by the names of their famous former residents.

Wright, the famed architect, lived in a three-bedroom suite at the Plaza for six years while he directed the construction of the Guggenheim Museum. His namesake residence will boast over 3,500 square feet of sprawling space, 11-foot ceilings and incomparable corner-window views of Central Park and Fifth Avenue.

The hotel's four duplex and single triplex penthouse residences will encompass formal dining rooms, soaring 10-to-14-foot ceilings, majestic curving marble staircases, floor-to-ceiling windows and terraces opening up to the soothing vista of Central Park.

Residents will have their own entrance on the Central Park South Avenue side of the building as well as full access to the Plaza's concierge services a la carte, and fully expandable based on an owner's needs.

	Unparalleled Elegance
	Photo: theplazaresidences.com

Requests will be filtered through the Concierge Direct -- a high-tech touch-screen panel that will be available in each condominium.

This panel also controls lighting, temperature, security and a music and video sound system. In addition, it can give residents access to maid, butler and laundry services, pet grooming, walking and babysitting amenities, car and valet services, as well as ticket ordering and restaurant reservations.

Want more? Check out TheStreet.com TV video. Hema Oza takes a peek inside the Plaza residences.

Apart from the renovation of the luxury residences, hotel rooms and suites, the magnificence of the Plaza's interior public spaces will also be resurrected. Among the landmark rooms, the Palm Court's original 1,200 square foot domed stained-glass ceiling will be recreated and the Oak Room's wood paneling, characteristic arches and archetypal detailing will be gracefully refurbished.

The public area will also feature a new interior landscaped courtyard, complete with a fountain, watercourse and walking pathways. Juliet balconies from the Plaza's rooms will overlook the courtyard, meant to reflect the hotel's original French-chateau design.

For further information on the private residences at the Plaza Hotel, contact a sales associate at 212-588-8000 or [e-mail].

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