Roughly two years after the Trump Organization sold the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., the buyer is facing foreclosure.
The Trump Organization bought the rights to develop what is known as the Old Post Office, located a few blocks from the White House, in 2012, according to the Trump Organization’s website.
On May 11, 2022, CGI Merchant Group bought the property, saying it would rebrand it as a Waldorf Astoria.
However, CGI has since defaulted on the mortgage from the deal an affidavit filed with the D.C. Recorder of Deeds said, according to Bisnow.
It says that $252.7 million remains owed.
Breaking: Waldorf Astoria, former Trump International Hotel in D.C., could be sold at foreclosure auction https://t.co/I2WgQ09ked
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) May 14, 2024
The federal government still owns the location.
CGI paid $375 million for the lease rights, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Should Donald Trump buy back the historic property?
The Journal reported in February that CGI defaulted on a $285 loan connected with the property.
The Journal report said that higher interest rates and the price CGI paid the Trump Organization were factors in CGI missing its payments.
The former Trump Hotel DC is now going to go back on the market. If you ever question the existence of a Divine Author the last few years should dispel it. To think Trump is returning as president and his former Hotel could become a MAGA hive is just too delicious.
— Matt Schlapp (@mschlapp) May 14, 2024
In February, CGI Chief Executive Raoul Thomas told the Journal he was seeking $100 million to set things right.
MSD, now BDT & MSD Partners, which gave CGI the loan, now wants to foreclose on the loan, according to Bisnow.
Trump should buy it back.
That hotel in DC was made beautiful by Trump.
It blossomed into a social center. The drinks were way overpriced but the Trump Hotel could command the inflated prices.
It’s worth it, even at the price of stupid Emoluments suits. https://t.co/8oOD2UlGkr
— Jeff Clark (@JeffClarkUS) May 14, 2024
The D.C. Recorder of Deeds filing said an auction is scheduled for June 20.
The sale could have multiple potential outcomes — from a new buyer to BDT & MSD taking control, to a new deal between CGI and the company that provided the loan.
The Trump Organization spent $200 million on the hotel after it won the rights to the lease.
“As a family, it has been an honor and a privilege to redevelop the Nation’s Old Post Office,” Eric Trump said when the hotel was sold, according to the Trump Organization.
“We took a dilapidated and underutilized government building and transformed it into one of the most iconic hotels in the world. We are incredibly proud of what we accomplished, and we wish Waldorf Astoria, Raoul Thomas, and the team at CGI, tremendous success in the years to come,” he said then.
