The Waldorf Astoria Hotel’s conversion into several hundred condos and fewer hotel rooms will officially move forward now that the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has given the project its stamp of approval. On Tuesday evening, in a meeting that stretched well beyond the Commission’s normal schedule, the LPC unanimously approved the conversion, which will shutter the hotel for three years . . .
Tuesday’s presentation was led by Frank Mahan, an associate director at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the firm leading the conversion. The massive 239-page presentation [PDF!] last over two hours, but was commended by the LPC and people who gave testimony at the meeting for its level of detail and the amount of elements it was incorporating from the original design of the hotel.