Berwind Property Group, which is based in Philadelphia, is converting the former Barbizon Hotel at 140 East 63rd Street to about 65 condominium apartments, according to plans recently filed with the New York State Attorney General's office.
Through its subsidiary, The Melrose Hotel Company, Berwind had acquired the property in 2002 and spent about $40 million in renovating it and converting it to the Melrose Hotel. The hotel closed recently, but still has some existing tenants.
The 23-story hotel, designed by Murgatroyd & Ogden, opened in 1927 as the Barbizon Hotel for Women, where no men were permitted above the lobby floor. It gained fame in the 1950s and 1960s when its residents included Grace Kelly, Candice Bergen, Ali McGraw and Liza Minelli. Its rooms were small but it had a nice large lobby and some splendid meeting rooms at the top. Men were finally admitted as guests in 1981.
In their fine book, "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City Architecture, Third Edition," (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988), Norton White and Elliot Willensky described the building as "A romantic, neo-Gothic tawny brick charmer, lovingly restored in the 1980s."
The impressive Barbizon becomes the latest of the city's major hotels to convert all or many of their rooms to condominium apartments. Recently, the Plaza and St. Regis Hotels on Fifth Avenue announced plans to convert some of their rooms while the Empire Hotel on Broadway and 63rd Street is undergoing a full conversion.
Although there are numerous taller buildings nearby along Third Avenue, the Barbizon, which is located on the southeast corner of Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street, has long been a prominent landmark in the 60's west of Third Avenue.
Through its subsidiary, The Melrose Hotel Company, Berwind had acquired the property in 2002 and spent about $40 million in renovating it and converting it to the Melrose Hotel. The hotel closed recently, but still has some existing tenants.
The 23-story hotel, designed by Murgatroyd & Ogden, opened in 1927 as the Barbizon Hotel for Women, where no men were permitted above the lobby floor. It gained fame in the 1950s and 1960s when its residents included Grace Kelly, Candice Bergen, Ali McGraw and Liza Minelli. Its rooms were small but it had a nice large lobby and some splendid meeting rooms at the top. Men were finally admitted as guests in 1981.
In their fine book, "The A.I.A. Guide to New York City Architecture, Third Edition," (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988), Norton White and Elliot Willensky described the building as "A romantic, neo-Gothic tawny brick charmer, lovingly restored in the 1980s."
The impressive Barbizon becomes the latest of the city's major hotels to convert all or many of their rooms to condominium apartments. Recently, the Plaza and St. Regis Hotels on Fifth Avenue announced plans to convert some of their rooms while the Empire Hotel on Broadway and 63rd Street is undergoing a full conversion.
Although there are numerous taller buildings nearby along Third Avenue, the Barbizon, which is located on the southeast corner of Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street, has long been a prominent landmark in the 60's west of Third Avenue.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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