Former Waldorf Astoria in New York to test high-end homes market

New York’s closed Waldorf Astoria will re-emerge this week as an apartment building, testing whether nostalgia for a cherished landmark can spark high-dollar deals in a market glutted with luxury homes.

The Park Avenue property, a high-society hangout that counted Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe as tenants, has been getting primed for this moment since 2015. That’s when China’s Anbang Insurance Group Co. bought it for a record $1.95bn (€1.8bn) with plans to convert a portion of the 1,400-room hotel into for-sale apartments.