Report: Plaza Owner Wants to Build City's Tallest Apartment Tower [UPDATED]

Reuters reports this morning that Elad Group, the real estate firm that owns the Plaza Hotel, plans to build a 95-story apartment tower on Madison Avenue. At 899 feet, the $450 million tower would be the tallest residential tower in the city and about 71 percent of the height of the Empire State Building, the city's tallest commercial tower. (We're confused by the initial reports, however, which claim Elad plans to build a 75-story tower on an existing 20-story building; 899 feet seems a little short for a 95-story tower. The Chrysler Building, for instance, has 77 stories and is nearly 1,100 feet tall. The Empire State Building's 102 stories stretch over 1,224 feet.)

Elad, owned by Israeli billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva, bought the Plaza in 2004 in a $675 million deal, and is converting most of it into condos.

UPDATE: Elad publicist Lloyd Kaplan tells us that Elad can't talk about anything. "I can give you a 'no comment,'" Mr. Kaplan said. "That's all I can say."

New York magazine's Daily Intellingencer reports that the tower will be 74 stories (that makes a little more sense) and that the architect will be Daniel Libeskind. Still, no one seems to know for sure, and Elad isn't talking. So... stay tuned.

UPDATE 2: The Department of Buildings has no permits approved or awaiting approval for any construction at the Elad-owned Grand Madison condo at 225 Fifth Avenue near Madison Square Park. So, if any building is going up, it's likely not going up there.