NEW YORK – Trump Organisation has reached a deal to sell its Washington hotel lease for US$375 million (RM1.56 billion) to CGI Merchant Group, which plans to remove ex-president Donald Trump’s name from the luxury property’s facade, United States media reported yesterday.
The Miami-based investment fund has struck a separate agreement with Hilton Worldwide Holdings to rebrand Trump International Hotel as a Waldorf Astoria, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Contacted by AFP, CGI declined to comment. Trump Organisation and Hilton group also did not immediately return requests.
The historic building just a short walk from the White House, and down Pennsylvania Avenue from the US Capitol, is not owned by Trump Organisation.
Once the capital city’s main post office, the structure is owned by the US government that in 2013 leased it to Trump’s real estate company for 60 years, with an option to extend for another 40 years.
Trump Organisation invested some US$200 million in the renovation of the building, which was constructed in the late 19th century and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
According to a report by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the company created to manage the hotel, Trump Old Post Office LLC, incurred more than US$71 million in losses between the hotel’s opening in 2016 and August last year. It has never turned a profit.
During Trump’s presidency, the establishment – known for its massive atrium and soaring clock tower – served as a meeting place for Republican officials, donors, and lobbyists.
At the time, several lawmakers and other figures expressed concern that the 263-room hotel was accommodating foreign dignitaries visiting Washington.
They pointed to a potential conflict of interest for Trump, who was both president of the US and still a key shareholder in Trump Organisation.
A congressional investigation into the matter is ongoing. – AFP, November 15, 2021
