New York: US media report Sunday that the Trump Organization has reached a deal to sell its Washington hotel lease for $375 million to CGI Merchant Group, which plans to remove Donald Trump’s name from the property’s facade.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a Miami-based investment fund has reached an agreement with Hilton Worldwide Holdings to rebrand the Trump International Hotel as a Waldorf Astoria.
CGI declined to comment when contacted by AFP. The Trump Organization and Hilton group did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
There is a historic building a short walk from the White House and down Pennsylvania Avenue from the US Capitol that is not owned by the Trump Organization.
The building, once the capital city’s main post office, is now owned by the US government, which in 2013 leased it to Trump’s real estate company on a 60-year lease with an option to extend for another 40 years.
This building was constructed in the late 19th century and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Trump Organization invested about $200 million in its renovation.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee found that Trump Old Post Office LLC, the company created to manage the hotel, incurred more than $71 million in losses between the hotel’s opening in 2016 and August 2020. It has never turned a profit.
Trump’s presidency saw the establishment – with its massive atrium and soaring clock tower – serve as a meeting place for Republican officials, donors, and lobbyists.
A number of lawmakers and other figures expressed concern at the time that the 263-room hotel was hosting foreign dignitaries visiting Washington.
There was a potential conflict of interest for Trump, since he was both president and a key shareholder in the Trump Organization. The matter is under investigation by Congress.