Will the Empire Hotel Be Going Condo??

The Empire Hotel Returns

The Empire Hotel will Not be going Condo but instead will be returning to 44 West 63rd Street as (Gasp!) "The Empire Hotel". The Hotel is currently under renovation and scheduled to reopen January 2007. The retail will include "a dry grocer" (probably a clothing store), P.J. Clarke's Restaurant, a luxury spa and second floor steak house.

"Ten hotels closed for full or partial condominium conversions from April 2002 through 2005, accounting for a total of 2,415 guestrooms, or roundly 3.8% of the 2005 room inventory. These conversions reflect the strength of the Manhattan condominium market. We note that the condominium conversions were primarily limited to upscale residential neighborhoods, mainly around Central Park, where land and buildings are in short supply and condominium prices are high. These properties were all upscale or luxury in nature. Given the limited number of upscale/luxury lodging facilities available for condominium conversion, as well as the strength of the Manhattan lodging market, fewer conversions should occur in the next few years. The Empire Hotel, which was originally acquired for conversion to residential use, is currently being renovated and is slated to reopen as a mid-scale hotel by January 2007." 2006 Hotel Market Overview [HVS International]
"The property was erected in 1892 and had 375 hotel rooms. In was acquired in 1999, when it was known as the Radisson Empire Hotel, by Ian Schrager in a deal that also included the Barbizon Hotel on Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street. Schrager, one of the city’s more active hotel developers, eventually sold the property to the Chetrit Group that announced plans in 2005 to convert the building to 125 condominium apartments. " [CityRealty]