Waldorf Astoria Reportedly Hitting The Market After NYC Icon's $2B Renovation
One of Manhattan’s most famous hotels could soon hit the market, less than a year after it reopened.
The Chinese owners of the Waldorf Astoria, a landmarked, luxury art deco hotel on Park Avenue, are preparing to start marketing the hotel for sale after spending eight years and $2B on renovating it and converting several floors to condominiums, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Dajia Insurance Group, the state-owned firm tasked with managing the assets of defunct reinsurer Anbang Insurance Group, has tapped Eastdil Secured to list the property as soon as next month, the WSJ reported, citing anonymous sources.
Anbang, led by CEO Wu Xiaohui, bought the hotel in 2014 for $1.95B, the most paid for a single hotel in U.S. history. It shuttered the property in 2017 for a renovation and partial conversion that was supposed to cost $1B and wrap up in 2020.
The construction at 305 Park Ave. reduced the hotel room count from 1,400 to 375 and introduced 372 new luxury residences as well as 50K SF of private amenities and 43K SF of hotel amenity space.
The Chinese government wound up paying at least $1B over its initial budget and only wrapped up construction last year. The hotel, amenities and retail space are being offered for sale, while the condos are being sold separately as individual units. Studios start at $1.8M, while four-bedroom units are being offered for close to $19M, The New York Times reported.
Anbang's purchase was one of the largest of the short-lived era of rampant spending by Chinese firms on U.S. commercial real estate toward the end of the Obama administration. It also paid Blackstone $5.5B in 2016 for a portfolio of luxury hotels that it tried but failed to offload.
Wu was arrested and imprisoned by Chinese authorities in 2018 for defrauding investors, and the government placed Anbang's assets, including the Waldorf Astoria, under the control of Dajia.
The renovation, despite its budgetary and time management challenges, has been hailed as a success and hosted this year's Real Estate Board of New York gala for the first time in its new amenity space.
The seller didn't disclose the exact asking price but doesn’t expect the sale to cover all its costs, the WSJ reported. Its expected $1B-plus price tag means there may be few potential buyers outside of Asian and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds.
Eastdil and Dajia didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Bisnow.
Hilton signed a 100-year agreement to run the hotel when it sold the property to Anbang and is committed to that deal.
“We look forward to continuing to serve our guests with legendary Waldorf Astoria service that is redefining luxury hospitality in New York City,” a Hilton spokesperson said in a statement.
Investors have returned to NYC's luxury hotel sales market in recent months, with more than $1.1B of hotel trades taking place between July and November.
