Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Sasaki Assoc. to complete restoration

The Landmark Preservation Commission recently approved plans to restore and enhance the two 66th St. porte-cochere entrances at Manhattan House, the Upper East Side landmark architectural icon and residential development. The porte-cochere improvement plan was designed and developed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Sasaki Associates. The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the restoration and enhancement of driveways, sidewalks, columns and landscaping at Manhattan House.  The driveways and sidewalks will be repaved with the introduction of granite curbs flanking both sides of the new driveway. At the two main drop-off points, granite pavers will be installed and repairs will be made to the existing terrazzo flooring.  New landscaping and lighting features will be introduced on both sides of the porte-cochere columns. The Manhattan House porte-cochere improvement project completion is projected for the fall.   "It is important to us to bring back the elegance of the original grand porte-cochere entrances designed by Gordon Bunshaft when Manhattan House was built in 1952," said Brian Fallon, a partner of O'Connor Capital Partners, the sponsor of Manhattan House. "This is another milestone in the redevelopment, and we have assembled a highly qualified team to complete the Landmark-approved restoration in the spring and summer of 2009." Located at 200 East 66th St., the Manhattan House has been restored and enhanced to combine the building's classic grandeur with quintessential elements of 21st-century luxury living.  Manhattan House offers spacious, light-infused, one to five-bedroom-plus family sized residences, and residents will enjoy unprecedented services and amenities, including the exclusive residents-only Manhattan Club, an in-residence hotel concierge, Exhale Spa and state-of-the-art fitness facility, Roto Studio-designed children's playroom, and Manhattan's second largest private residential park with landscaping by Sasaki Associates, the world-renowned firm that recently designed the 2008 Beijing Olympic Green.