Those who are waiting with bated breath for the reopening of the Plaza Hotel—extremely wealthy tourists (I don’t care how much money you have, a tourist is a tourist) and local movers and shakers alike—won’t have to wait much longer. After two insufferably long years and $400 million, the hotel will emerge from its renovation cocoon anew, chock full of condominiums, on Oct. 1. But not to worry, those who have purchased a new, Versace-decorated home for somewhere between $2.5 and $40 million, can move in even sooner. Eighty percent of the new apartment units, complete with Concierge Direct—which allows residents to control their lights, TV and air conditioning and from which they can order theater tickets, make restaurant reservations or send for a car pick-up—have already been sold. Meanwhile, on the other side of the tracks, Abyssinian Development Corp. broke ground Friday on what will be Harlem’s newest condominiums. While the long-abandoned Renaissance Ballroom and Renaissance Casino had been up for possible landmark designation, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 6-1 last month in favor of the project, which will include gutting the two buildings, tearing down the adjacent YWCA and erecting a 19-story mixed-income condo tower, as well as commercial and community space. The shiny new structure should be completed by 2009.