Developing private apartments may pay more than running a hotel so the new owner, Anbang Insurance Group, a Chinese company that recently acquired the building, has announced plans to make the change. The plan includes closing the building for up to three years to do the work, upgrading 1100 rooms into 500 larger apartments, ending employment ties with 1500 people and paying $100M in severance pay. The hotel has hosted every U.S. president since it opened 85 years ago in addition to many major celebrities which may have inflated the $1.95B price tag. Attorney Rob Anctil forwards this Wall Street Journal piece with more information: http://www.wsj.com/article_email/classic-waldorf-hotel-to-be-gutted-up-to-1-100-rooms-turned-into-condos-1466949782-lMyQjAxMTE2ODI3NzkyNzc3Wj