The Waldorf Astoria is headed for the auction block.
Dajia Insurance Group, the Chinese state-backed owner of the Park Avenue site, is preparing to sell the luxury hotel after completing a sweeping renovation that converted many of its rooms into condominiums, according to reports.
Eastdil Secured is expected to market the property on Dajia’s behalf, according to the report. There is no word on how much the seller is seeking for hotel.
Anbang Insurance Group, which bought it for $1.95 billion in 2014, closed the property in 2017 and embarked on a roughly $2 billion overhaul.
A year later, Chinese regulators seized control of Anbang and created Dajia Insurance Group to take over its assets in light of what authorities in Beijing alleged was a wave of illegal activity.
The project was far more complicated — and costly — than initially envisioned.
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2022 that renovation and conversion costs had ballooned to more than $2 billion, roughly 25% higher than early internal estimates, pushing the combined acquisition and redevelopment tab north of $4 billion.
The Journal also detailed how landmark preservation rules, pandemic-era supply chain disruptions and the complexities of gutting and rebuilding a nearly century-old structure contributed to years of delays.
Citing the Waldorf’s status as “one of New York City’s most prominent and culturally significant hotels,” the local Landmarks Preservation Commission deemed several of the building’s interior spaces landmarks in 2017, necessitating extra care for renovations.
The eight-year project reworked 1.6 million square feet of interior space — including the elevators — and converted roughly half the building to residential use.
The renovation left 375 hotel rooms — down from roughly 1,400 before the overhaul — spread across 633,000 square feet.
Developers replaced all 5,584 windows with historically accurate replicas and cleaned or swapped out each of the building’s 1.37 million exterior bricks — a painstaking overhaul designed to preserve the landmarked facade while modernizing the structure.
Inside, the cavernous lobby was restored to its original 1931 proportions after decades of alterations.
The renovation also carved out 372 private residences within the tower, with units priced from roughly $1.8 million for a studio to more than $18 million for a four-bedroom apartment, according to prior reporting.
The current ownership has not disclosed how many of the condos have been sold.
The Post has sought comment from Eastdil Secured.
New York’s luxury hotel market has seen a flurry of big-ticket transactions over the past year, underscoring investor appetite for high-end Manhattan properties.
The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park was recently sold in a deal that reportedly valued the 253-room property at around $400 million, while theI nterContinental Times Square fetched $230 million in December.
Two Edition-branded hotels also changed hands in October, with the Edition Clocktower Hotel selling for between $235 million and $250 million and the New York Edition at 5 Madison Ave. trading for $231.2 million.
The Kimpton Hotel Eventi was sold last year for roughly $174 million.
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