Foreclosed Watergate Hotel fails to sell at auction

Over 30 years ago, this 251-room hotel was the epicenter of the largest political scandal to rock our nation. In fact, almost exactly 30 years ago, President Richard Nixon was forced to resign his presidency as a result of the ensuing backlash. To this date, every political scandal in the U.S. has immediately been linked to the Watergate by the suffix –gate. Many years after Nixon's time, it was Monica Lewinsky and her alleged affair with President Bill Clinton that drew reporters back to the Watergate.

The Hotel is part of a large expensive condo complex, and even recently was used by the likes of Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Now, all these years later, the Watergate Hotel’s once-grand interiors are badly in need of a lot of TLC. Behind padlocked doors, abandoned desks and old computers sit on a dirty marble floor. The Hotel has been empty since 2007, and its owners have been trying to unload it for over a year.
Part of the Hotel’s troubles came from a dispute over Monument’s plans to convert the Hotel to co-ops, which led to a 3-year legal battle with the neighbors. Even empty, the property was costing up to $150,000 in maintenance and insurance expenses.

Eventually Monument Realty started falling behind on the $40M loan to PB Capital Corp. Last month, the Watergate went up on the auction block.

The bidding started at $25 Million on July 21. Although 10 potential bidders – including investor groups from Tokyo and Dubai - had placed a $1 Million deposit, in the end the auction was unsuccessful.

Still, at least one investor is optimistic. Robert Holland, an international developer for both residential and commercial real estate with several successful DC projects may seek a private purchase. “At the end of the day, I believe this will be the premiere hotel in Washington” says Holland.