The hotel’s owner, Anbang Insurance Group, would not disclose how many rooms would become condos.
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The new Chinese owners of Waldorf-Astoria hotel in NY plan a massive renovation that will turn much of the landmark hotel into luxury condominiums.
The Anbang Insurance Group Co, which bought the hotel in 2014, paid out $100million in severance packages to hundreds of hotel employees.
The redevelopment is expected to cost more than $1 billion and will lead to the elimination of numerous current 1,500 jobs, as the need for room-service, housekeeping and other hospitality staff will be dramatically decreased, the Journal reported. When the hotel reopens, it will have 300 to 500 guest rooms.
The Waldorf Astoria New York, while still iconic, has been in need of a makeover for many years.
Anbang representatives didn’t immediately respond to calls for comment placed before regular business hours in Beijing, where the insurer is based.
New York’s Waldorf Astoria will temporarily close next Spring, and when it reopens, some of its fabled rooms will be condos, while others will have received a makeover. It now has 1,413 hotel rooms.
“We expect a good return with our Waldorf investment”.
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A spokesman for Anbang told the Journal that the company has “no definite plans at this time”. “To achieve the high value-creation, we plan to renovate the two towers into luxury residential apartments with world class amenities and finishes to reflect its culture and social status”, he said at a speech at Harvard University in January 2015.
