Plaza Hotel to close for a four-year exterior restoration

The facade of the iconic Plaza Hotel at 1 Central Park South will be getting a thorough revamp, according to its operators, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. The work will require that the hotel be shut down for four years, as the New York Times reported. The 119-year-old landmark will shutter in January, including the hotel’s event spaces and the Palm Court restaurant; it is not yet clear whether residents of the building’s 181 condominiums will have to relocate.

According to a statement from Fairmont, the restoration effort “reflects the complexity of maintaining a property of such architectural and historical significance, with careful consideration given to preservation requirements and the building’s long-term care,” adding that “the scope and complexity of the facade works require detailed planning and coordination with relevant stakeholders.”

The 18-story building at the corner of Central Park South and Fifth Avenue has long been a symbol of New York City at its most grand. Guests have included colorful characters from the fictional and whimsical Eloise to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Truman Capote, John Jacob Astor, John F. Kennedy, Frank Lloyd Wright, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and a Hungarian princess who once kept a pet lion cub in her room.

Since the addition of condos in 2008 following a three-year closure, the Plaza has sold opulent quarters to the likes of Tommy Hilfiger and a slew of Russian billionaires.

Designed in French Renaissance chateau style by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in 1907, the revered hotel has had a list of former owners that included Donald J. Trump in the 1990s, when it went into bankruptcy. The Plaza went into foreclosure again in 2016; it was acquired by its current owners, Katara Hospitality, a state-owned Qatari hospitality firm, in 2018.

As part of an agreement with the City Planning Commission, Plaza ownership is required to restore the historic building facades, roof, and landmarked interior spaces as part of a continuing maintenance program to ensure the long-term care and preservation of its historic exterior.

In addition, New York City’s Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP), known as Local Law 11, requires owners of buildings taller than six stories to have their exterior walls and other structures inspected every five years.

According to the Times, a representative from the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, which represents hotel workers, said that the 378 union member employees would be entitled to return to their jobs at the same pay level when the hotel opened its doors again and that it would aid them in finding other employment.