The Plaza Hotel is closing its doors for at least four years.

The 119-year-old Fifth Avenue landmark will shut down in January so crews can restore its historic exterior, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announced Wednesday. The job could keep the famed hotel dark until 2031.

Fairmont has stayed mum on what the work involves, how much it will cost and whether anyone living in the building’s 181 condos will be forced to clear out. The hotel’s 282 rooms, the Palm Court and its event spaces will all close during the restoration.

According to a statement from Plaza management: the timeline estimated is “due to the complexity of this undertaking and significant intrusion to operations.”

The Plaza Hotel is shutting down for at least four years starting in January, and condo owners hoping to cash out are in for a rough ride. LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com

The Plaza’s big shocker however, wasn’t so shocking to the people who live there.

Condo owners at the Fifth Avenue icon were in the loop for months about the hotel’s coming marathon shutdown, well before the news broke out to the rest of the world this week, The Post has learned.

“The residents have known about this for many, many months now,” Corcoran broker Kane Manera, who has two penthouse listings in the building, told The Post.

Manera said he first heard about the plan “early this year.”

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announced Wednesday that the 119-year-old Fifth Avenue landmark will close for a sweeping facade restoration that could keep it dark until 2031. NurPhoto via Getty Images

Douglas Elliman’s Michael Passaro said owners he works with went straight to building staff once word got out. “They had confirmed with the doorman and management that residents will continue to live there,” he said.

Owners come and go through their own entrance on the 58th Street side, cut off from the hotel.

“The residential lobby is in a completely different space to the hotel,” Manera said.

What residents do lose is the glamour. The Palm Court, the hotel’s event spaces and the white-glove perks that come with living above one of the planet’s best-known hotels will all vanish for the duration. Scaffolding is also likely to wrap the building’s marble and brick facade for years.

Residents of its 181 condos won’t be forced out, according to brokers with clients in the building, but they’ll lose the Palm Court and other hotel perks while living behind years of scaffolding. REUTERSBuyer’s market

The bigger fallout may be on the sales floor, where The Plaza was already a tough sell.

“I think there’s 29 units currently on the market and I’m sure there’s a few shadow inventory that’s not yet listed,” Passaro said.

He closed a $10.625 million deal in the building in February 2025, and said the sale came with a cloud hanging over it. “I think there have been rumors for the last couple years that this might happen,” he said.

“That person who purchased that apartment actually has it back on the market for sale,” Passaro said, noting the buyer relisted roughly a year after closing. “I don’t know if [the shutdown] played into their decision at all, but it’s gonna be tough.”

Dana Gaiser teaches students about wine etiquette during a business etiquette class taught by Myka Meier at The Plaza Hotel in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017. Zandy Mangold/NY PostBrokers say owners got wind of the plan early this year, months before the public announcement. Selling now looks like an uphill battle. Getty Images for The New York Botanical Garden

Now bargain hunters smell blood.

“I think it is going to be difficult to sell in the building over the next couple years,” Passaro said. “Negotiability, I think it’s just gone up for anybody that’s looking possibly to purchase in the building.”

He expects nearby trophy towers along Billionaires’ Row and Central Park South to scoop up shoppers who’d rather skip the hard hats.

“I don’t think many people are gonna be too thrilled about going to look at the Plaza in the near future,” he said.

The building has already seen some painful exits. Russian billionaires Valery and Olga Kogan offloaded their roughly 5,000-square-foot spread last year for $21 million while facing foreclosure, about 45% below their original $38 million ask. They recently listed their Plaza hotel penthouse for $45 million. Smucker’s heir Tim Smucker took a haircut on a one-bedroom he sold at auction.

Owners also face a second renovation problem that Fairmont’s facade fix won’t touch. Many units date to the mid-2000s condo conversion and need serious updating, and that bill lands on individual owners, not the hotel.

Douglas Elliman’s Michael Passaro says 29 units are already listed and buyers are gaining leverage, adding that “it’s gonna be tough.” vacant – stock.adobe.comThe long game

Still, both brokers argue the patient money wins.

“It’s a blip in the ocean, at least from where I stand,” Manera said, pointing out that most Plaza buyers plan to stay put far longer than four years.

“The thing is that buildings need maintenance, they need care, they need upkeep. And if they don’t get them, then they fall into disrepair,” he added.

Once the scaffolding comes down, Manera predicts a rush.

“Once people experience The Plaza in its renovated format, it’s going to be a slingshot for sales,” he said.

Passaro agreed. “It’s a short-term inconvenience for a long-term gain,” he said.

The Plaza Hotel is seen from the presidential suite at the Pierre Hotel in New York, Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. The presidential suite rents for $500,000 a month. Chad Rachman/NY PostA conch shell sits in the ballroom of the Plaza Hotel in New York, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Former event planner Eever Norman, who became homeless and wanted by police for selling methamphetamine, used to hide and sleep in the hotel’s hidden rooms before being arrested for stealing. Helayne Seidman for NY PostCorcoran’s Kane Manera sees a silver lining, predicting the revamp will be “a slingshot for sales” once the work is done. REUTERS

Both brokers said they hope the work eventually revives the beloved underground food hall, which has sat dark for years and remains a sore point for buyers.

The Plaza’s 378 union workers will be allowed back at the same pay when it reopens, according to the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, which says it will try to place them elsewhere in the meantime.

Until then, New Yorkers and tourists have one final holiday season to get their fix, whether that’s tea at the Palm Court or a night in the pink Eloise Suite, which runs north of $4,000.

“Short term, there may be a little bit of pain, but long term, it’s going to be a gain, not just for the residents and the hotel guests, but for all of New York City,” Manera said.