WASHINGTON — On Friday the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced its confirmation that CGI Hospitality Opportunity Fund is a qualified transferee under the lease of the Old Post Office after an extensive review.
In a release, GSA said CGI and Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc. plan to convert the Old Post Office into a Waldorf Astoria luxury hotel. After transfer of the contract, CGI will assume responsibility for the terms and conditions of the lease.
GSA also said the decision to assign the lease to CGI was based on the strength of the partnership between CGI and Hilton and the parties’ commitment to ensuring the success of the future hotel.
The Old Post Office located at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest is the current location of the Trump International Hotel.
The building belongs to the federal government but the GSA leased it to the Trump Organization for 60 years in 2013.
The Trump International Hotel opened in 2016 about the same time as Donald Trump accepted the Republican Party nomination to run for president.
The luxury hotel currently has 263 rooms.
The Wall Street Journal reported in November 2021 that the Trump Organization wanted to sell the Old Post Office lease to CGI for $375 million dollars.
The Old Post Office was constructed between 1892 and completed in 1899. The building is an example of Richardsonian Romanesque, part of the Romanesque Revival architecture of the 19th-century.
Its bell tower is the third tallest structure in Washington, excluding radio towers.
It was used as the city's main General Post Office until 1914 at the beginning of World War I. Afterward, this Pennsylvania Avenue landmark structure functioned primarily as a federal office building.