new York The Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue near Grand Central Station is a New York landmark: Franklin D. Roosevelt had his own underground train track built here so that he can take the elevator up in his wheelchair directly to the Presidential Suite .
Marilyn Monroe was one of the regular guests, as were former US Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman. In the Grand Ballroom, Prince Rainier III. Monaco and Grace Kelly celebrated their engagement and John F. Kennedy celebrated his birthday gala. The Steinway grand piano on which Cole Porter once composed the song “Under my Skin” still stands in the foyer.
When the Waldorf Astoria first opened its doors on Park Avenue in 1931, it was the largest and tallest hotel in the world and remains one of New York’s most prominent properties to this day. Today, private investors can also secure a piece of history – in the form of a property in the art deco building.
Since 2017, the 52-storey hotel with its two towers has been almost completely rebuilt, with private residences on the upper floors. Where there was once 1,400 hotel rooms and suites, 375 hotel rooms are being built in the lower area and 375 condominiums in the upper area. The first apartments should be ready to move in in the second half of 2024.
The sale is in full swing. Prices range from $1.8 million for a one-bedroom apartment, $5 million to $7 million for a two-bedroom apartment, and up to $18.5 million for a four-bedroom apartment measuring around 300 square meters. If you want one of the 20 apartments with a terrace, you have to pay a little more. The same applies to apartments with a view of the Chrysler Building.
Duplex apartments are being built in the two towers
Those who want to know the price of the two duplex apartments in the building’s two towers, which once served as engine rooms and now have the best views, have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
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“We’ve sold many apartments to clients from all over the world,” says Dan Tubb, senior sales director of “The Towers of the Waldorf Astoria Residences” – as the posh residence is now called. Tubb has just returned from a sales tour of 15 cities in five countries – the Middle East and London. “But we also have several buyers from New York who want to move in here,” says the head seller.
If you want to get an idea of the location, you have to go through a site fence and a side entrance to see what is currently the only model apartment. Above the fourth floor, the building has been completely gutted, says Tubb. He therefore leads guests to the second floor, where construction workers are still attaching the last cables in the model apartment.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment bears the signature of French interior designer Jean-Louis Deniot: the kitchen with quartz worktops and Gaggenau appliances and the curved, custom-made Italian armchairs by Molteni&C and the bathrooms with a free-standing tub are a modern one Interpretation of the Art Deco style.
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The heavy wood-and-copper front doors of the apartments also pay homage to the original style. And right next to the apartment door there is another door: it opens the shelf for parcels or food deliveries and is also accessible from the inside for those who live there. So that no Amazon package gets lost and nobody has to get dressed for room service. Even a landmark moves with the times.
Owners have access to their own areas, but can book services from the hotel below.
(Photo: Towers of Waldorf Astoria)
“People love the history of the Waldorf Astoria,” says Tubb, speaking to customers. The original building was designed by architectural firm Schultze and Weaver. The renovation is being carried out by architects from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. They try to reinterpret the art deco style.
The pool, available only to condominium residents, is located in what was once the Skylight Ballroom and lets in plenty of light from the arched windows and what was once the hinged roof. The conservatory next door is also reminiscent of other times. The lobby should also shine again in its old glory with hardly any changes.
A private repository for Amazon deliveries
Those staying at the Waldorf Astoria will have their own entrance with their own concierge service and will not have to share the elevator with hotel guests. A wellness area, dinner rooms with professional chefs, terraces and meeting rooms are also planned for permanent residents. If you also want to use the hotel’s services, such as room service or the restaurant, you can do so at a discount.
In addition, Waldorf Astoria residents are automatically ranked in the highest tier of membership of Waldorf Astoria residences worldwide, ranging from the Maldives to Bangkok to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. The monthly costs for the so-called “maintenance” – the additional costs, which range from concierge service and pool use to stair cleaning and hot water – are 2.12 cents per square foot. That’s on the lower end for New York and equates to around $1,200 for a 50-square-foot one-bedroom apartment.
Those who buy an apartment in the Waldorf Astoria do not necessarily have to live in it themselves. The apartments can be rented out – the attached administration will help with this. But only if the rental contracts run for at least six months. “Airbnb will not be available at the Waldorf Astoria,” Tubb clarifies.
The architecture also plays with Art Deco in the pool.
The fact that potential customers have had to wait six years for the building to be completed and that the opening date has been repeatedly postponed is an issue in New York real estate circles.
After all, the renovation of the equally famous and historic Plaza Hotel on Central Park only took three years. There, too, foreign investors had converted the building and hotel rooms into private residences in 2005 with the Israeli real estate company Elad Properties. Seller Tubb explains the long wait not only with Covid but also with the size of the project. “The Waldorf Astoria is bigger than the Plaza,” he says.
Reconstruction with numerous delays
In fact, the Waldorf Astoria also has an eventful history behind it among the owners: Conrad Hilton bought the management rights in 1949 and the Hilton Hotels Corporation took over the entire hotel in 1972. Finally, in 2014, the Chinese Anbang Insurance Group took over the Waldorf Astoria for $1.95 billion. It was the most expensive hotel purchase in the world. At the same time, Anbang signed a 100-year deal with Hilton to manage the building.
In 2017 the new owners closed the building to start the renovation. But then Anbang got into trouble itself: in 2018, China’s chairman Wu Xiaohui was sentenced to 18 years in prison for corruption. The Chinese government eventually installed a new company, Dajia Insurance Group, which took over Anbang’s US portfolio. Then the pandemic came and further delayed the work.
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As recently as April, Dajia’s US CEO, Andrew Miller, resigned. According to the Wall Street Journal, he is said to have fallen out with the Chinese parent company because of the ever-increasing costs of the renovation.
Despite the delays, Tubb remains optimistic – also because the market for luxury real estate has recovered rapidly from the pandemic. “There’s a lot of interest and limited supply in Manhattan,” he says. And there is only one Waldorf Astoria.
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