Drama is beginning to heat up at the Waldorf Astoria, which Anbang purchased in 2015 for $1.95 billion. Anbang had planned to convert the legendary hotel from 1,413 hotel rooms to both 840 hotel rooms with 409 condominiums overseen by Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill (SOM) with construction led by Aecom Tishman. With construction due to commence next month (December 2017), Anbang has finally released their final plans for the property, which now will feature a mere 350 hotel rooms. This steep drop has ticked off Hilton, which claims that the steep drop in room count at the Waldorf-brands flagship location will weaken the brand's worldwide image. The Waldorf brand currently operates 30 hotels under the Hilton umbrella. The renovation was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in March 2017 and the hotel was closed on March 1, 2017. Work has already been done to ready the 85-year old property for the renovation including removing some of the historical items like the lobby's grand-clock to store safety during construction. The renovation is expected to be completed in 2021.
