New Waldorf Astoria Owners Will Add Luxury Condos to the Iconic Hotel
image via KerSaber
Back in October, it was revealed that Hilton Worldwide Holdings, who owned the landmark Waldorf Astoria since 1972, had agreed to sell the 1,232-room hotel to the Anbang Insurance Group Co., a financial and insurance company based in Beijing, for $1.95 billion. The deal closed just last week, and now the new owners are planning to convert part of the Art Deco building into luxury condominiums. According to The Real Deal, Anbang’s chairman Wu Xiaohui recently said: “We plan to renovate the two towers into luxury residential apartments with world-class amenities and finishes to reflect its culture and social status.”
The Chinese-based owners will renovate the Waldorf Towers–the top floors of the 47-story building which currently house a 181-room boutique hotel–as well as one- and two-bedroom residential rentals that range in size from 600 to 1,300 square feet. The Towers has its own entrance and elevator bank on 50th Street. It’s not yet known how Anbang will redevelop the space, but they are planning an initial public offering that could raise $2 billion. They also plan to buy 717 Fifth Avenue, a 26-story office building, from the Blackstone Group.
[Related: Hilton to Sell the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to Chinese Insurance Company for $1.95 Billion]
[Related: NYC Real Estate Firms Cater to Chinese Investors]
[Via TRD]