Plaza Sold, To Become Converted

Friday, it was disclosed that The Plaza Hotel, a New York landmark, was sold for the price of $675 million. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, the fourth richest person in the world, and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels sold the hotel to Elad Properties NY, a real estate developer. Because the hotel has been losing money recently, Elan plans to turn some of the rooms into condominiums.

Donald Trump, who had previously owned The Plaza, was surprised that it was losing money. "No kidding. That's one I did well with. It's a wonderful building." Gothamist is surprised that Donald Trump is going about feigning surprise at money losing ventures when his hotels are going belly up. Trump sold the hotel to the prince and the hotel group for $325 million.

The 18 floor hotel was built in 1907 for the price of $12 million and has 808 rooms. Elan also received the right to convert some of the rooms into condos, which was attained by previous owners. The rooms are likely to fetch top dollar, with estimates ranging from $2000-$4000 per square foot.