Waldorf Astoria

Plans Being Finalized for Partial Condominium Conversion of Waldorf Astoria Hotel

The Anbang Insurance Group Co. is planning to convert up to 1,100 hotel rooms of the 1,413-key Waldorf Astoria into an undisclosed number of condominiums. The 47-story, 625-foot-tall luxury hotel is at 301 Park Avenue, located on the block between East 49th and 50th streets in Midtown East. The hotel-to-residential conversion would retain between 300 to 500 hotel rooms, which will also see renovations of their own, according to the Wall Street Journal. The project is expected to cost $1 billion, and would close the Waldorf Astoria for up to three years. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will remain the hotel operator following the conversion. The Landmarks Preservation Commission will have to approve any exterior alterations. The hotel played host to the president of the United States for decades until China-based Angang acquired the property, an individual landmark, for $1.95 billion in 2015. During last year’s United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obama stayed at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel.

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222 East 40th Street. Photo at left by Tectonic via the YIMBY Forums. Rendering at right via Fisher Brothers.

Façade Installation Underway on 225 East 39th Street, 36-Story, 372-Unit Residential Tower, Murray Hill

The 36-story, 372-unit residential tower being constructed at 225 East 39th Street, located on Tunnel Exit Street between East 39th and 40th streets in Murray Hill, has topped out since YIMBY’s last update in February, when the structure was 16 stories above street level. Curtain wall installation is now underway on the structure, as seen in photos posted to the YIMBY Forums by Tectonic. The building measures 373,248 square feet in its entirety, and its residential units, which will be rental apartments, should average 922 square feet apiece. Twenty percent of the units, or 75, will rent at below-market rates through the affordable housing lottery. Amenities include a fitness center, a children’s playroom, tenant lounges, a café, a library, a landscaped courtyard, and a recreational area on the 35th floor. Fisher Brothers is the developer, and Handel Architects is behind the architecture. Completion can probably be expected later this year.

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