Gird those loins, preservationists. The battle for the Hotel Pennsylvania may not be over. In March 2013, Vornado said they abandoned plans to raze the historic hotel replace it with a glassy 3 million-square-foot tower, and instead, the developer planned to renovate the hotel. But now the Post reports that Vornado is putting its "big toe in the marketplace to explore the opportunity to land a major anchor tenant for the site and the Penn Plaza district," meaning that the developer has not given up on the 68-story 15 Penn Plaza. Company chairman Steven Roth said during a conference call that they "are getting very interesting intriguing incomings as to office tenants that might want that site."
So what does this mean? Well, the $300 million hotel renovation has been "put on hold," and Vornado now needs to decide whether the firm wants to move forward with that or return to its tower-tastic plans by securing a tenant for the potential skyscraper. Part of the reason Roth & co. have had a change of heart is all of the action happening to the west of Penn Station. Hudson Yards is powering forward, as is Manhattan West. The neighborhood is changing, and Roth doesn't want to get left behind.
· Famed Hotel Pennsylvania Facing Wrecking Ball Again [NYP]
· All Hotel Pennsylvania coverage [Curbed]
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