Waldorf Astoria New York’s $1B renovation will close hotel for 3 years

Waldorf Astoria New York

Anbang Insurance Group will close the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel for up to three years, enabling the property to undergo extensive renovations.

Earlier this month, Anbang began to move forward with its plans to rezone the property to allow the building to become mixed-use, but heavily reliant on private residences. In 2014, Anbang purchased the Waldorf Astoria from Hilton Worldwide for $1.95 million, and at the time of sale it was speculated that the future of the property would include condominiums on the top levels of the hotel (see story).

Change on the horizon
Anbang is now in the process of finalizing plans to close the landmark hotel for nearly three years as the property undergoes renovations. It is expected that when completed, the hotel will lose nearly 1,100 of its guest rooms to make way for private residences.

When the property is reopened, the hotel will be reduced to about 300 to 500 guest rooms. All other units will be sold as luxury condos.

In 2015, Anbang filed to rezone the space to account for the different sections of condos, the hotel and retail. The group also submitted permits to gut the 12th and 24th floors, likely to prepare for the possibility of future condo renovations (see story).

The Waldorf Astoria New York 

The closure and renovations are expected to begin next spring.

In addition to losing its guest rooms, Waldorf Astoria will cut back on staff, especially those in room service and housekeeping.

Per WSJ, the hotel employs nearly 1,500 individuals, and hundreds of these workers have already reached severance agreements with Hilton Worldwide, which manages the property. The severance package agreement is said to be costing Hilton Worldwide $100 million or more.

The renovations are likely to cost more than $1 billion, and when finished, the historic property on Park Avenue will be “radically transformed.”

from Travel and hospitality – Luxury Daily https://www.luxurydaily.com/waldorf-astoria-new-yorks-1b-renovation-will-close-hotel-for-3-years/
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