Carlton House to get two more stories, townhouse addition in conversion project

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously signed off today on a gut renovation of the Carlton House Hotel, according to an announcement from Extell Development, which is overseeing the project with partner Angelo Gordon & Company.

The partners picked up the property from the Helmsley estate last March for $170 million, closing it this past February in order to prepare for a conversion.

Originally built in 1951 as the Helmsley Carlton House, the building at 680 Madison Avenue currently contains 157 hotel and residential units, which were being vacated by the developers as their leases expired. Among the changes now planned: a two-story addition and two new infill buildings on the building’s north and south sides, an upgrade to its 32,000-square-foot retail space and a restoration of the exterior façade, Extell said today.

The project is slated for completion in 2013 and is being designed by Beyer Blinder Bell Architects & Planners.

When all is said and done, the spruced-up Carlton House, between 61st and 62nd streets, will have 18 stories containing 68 apartments, plus a brand-new, five-story townhouse that will fill what is currently a 35-foot gap between the existing building and its 61st Street neighbor. The first floor of that 9,700-square-foot house will serve as the main lobby for the main apartment building, while the upper four floors will have a private entryway accessible to a single user.

“I think when it is completed people will find Carlton House’s most iconic attributes preserved and its impact on Madison Avenue’s retail streetscape enhanced,” Extell President Gary Barnett said in a statement. — Sarabeth Sanders