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Anbang Insurance may convert a majority of the rooms at the Waldorf Astoria into condos.
The Chinese company, which bought the Waldorf Astoria in late 2014 for just under $2B, has said such a conversion could be in the property’s future, but no details have been available until now.
About 1,000 of the hotel’s 1,400 units would become condos under a plan that’s beginning to take shape, Crain's reports. A filing was submitted to the Department of Buildings shortly after the hotel’s new owners closed on their purchase.
It called for two separate sections of the building to house condos, and for a much smaller hotel component to be retained, as well as new retail space.
The plan earmarked 1.2M SF, or about 75% of the total footprint, for residential uses.
A law passed last year by the City Council prohibits hotels with over 150 units from converting more than 20% of any property into residential use unless the plans go through a public review process. That bill specifically exempted The Waldorf.
Hilton Worldwide, which Anbang will keep on board to operate the hotel, arrived at an agreement with the Hotel and Motel Trade Council for severance packages for workers soon after the bill passed. [Crain’s]
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