President-elect Donald Trump is weighing a bid to save the failing Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Washington, DC – and rebrand it once more as a Trump International Hotel, The Post has learned.
Three sources familiar with the situation said that the incoming commander-in-chief’s company, the Trump Organization, is weighing options that include a licensing deal or even possibly buying back the lease on the government-owned, 125-year-old Old Post Office building.
“Our family has saved the hotel once. If asked, we would save it again,” Eric Trump told The Post in an exclusive interview.
The luxury lodge at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. – just a few blocks away from the White House – became a magnet for GOP insiders, DC lobbyists, and fundraisers after Trump opened the hotel in 2016.
Republican operatives spent $266K there in its first six months alone, according to FEC data.
But visitor numbers dropped off once Hilton, which manages the Waldorf brand, took it over and the real estate mogul ended ties with the hotel, according to an insider.
It is still “to be determined” whether the Trump Organization would want to wrestle back full control of the hotel by buying back the lease it sold in 2022 or agree to a licensing deal, the source said.
Sources close to the property said the president-elect is eyeing a possible hospitality investment in the DC area.
But they added that there had been no formal outreach from the Trump Organization about the Waldorf Astoria.
The landmark tower, built in the Classical Revival style, boasts 263 rooms including 35 suites and a 6,300 square-foot, two-story townhouse with a private entrance. Prices start at roughly $600 per night.
A Hilton Group spokeswoman did not reply to The Post’s request for comment.
Any possible takeover would also pose questions for the future of the Bazaar restaurant at the hotel, which is run by Trump-bashing celebrity chef Jose Andres, a long-time Democrat donor.
A spokeswoman for the World Central Kitchen boss declined to take questions when approached by The Post on Thursday.
The Trump Organization sold its 100-year lease in 2022 to a group of Miami-based investors backed by ex-Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez for $375 million.
The deal with CGI Merchant Group, announced in November 2021, saw Hilton manage day-to-day operations.
But the firm lost control of the leasehold rights to its creditor, merchant bank BTD & MSD Partners, in August when it defaulted on its $285 million loan.
With higher interest rates posing challenges for the investment, it cleared the way for BTD & MSD Partners to snap up the lease for a cut-price $100 million at a foreclosure auction.
The Post has approached CGI for comment.
A spokesperson for BTD & MSD Partners, the merchant bank and investment firm run by ex-Goldman Sachs executives Gregg Lemkau and Byron Trott, declined to comment
Credit: Source link
