The New Yorker hotel is about to become the third largest in the city, doubling its number of rooms over the next five years. When completed, the renovation will bring the number of rooms in the hotel up to 1,800, at a cost that will run into the tens of millions of dollars.

The initial $30 million phase has already begun, and by February the hotel hopes to unveil 114 new rooms, mostly converted from commercial space. By June the building, which is located on Eighth Avenue between West 34th and West 35th Streets, plans to open another 174 rooms.

“The idea is to make the rooms more efficient for the business traveler,” Ann Peterson, the general manager of the hotel, told Crain’s. “The look is crisper, cleaner and updated.”

By the end of the five-year project the New Yorker will only stand behind the Hilton New York, which has 1,981 rooms, and the Marriott Marquis Times Square, which has 1,957 rooms. [Crain’s] –Christopher Cameron