Having been vacant since 2007, the renowned Watergate Hotel in Washington DC was sold this week to a group of European investors by the bank that foreclosed on the hotel last summer.
Marc Magazine, who led the auction of the hotel for broker CB Richard Ellis, said the 251-room hotel on prestigious Virginia Avenue was sold to Euro Capital Partners for US$45 million in an all-cash deal.
The sale closed last week. The property failed to attract bidders when it was auctioned last year. “It’s a very good price for both parties,” said Mr. Magazine. “There is a tremendous amount of construction to be had, so for the shape that it’s in, it’s a very good price for the seller.”
The hotel is part of a complex of buildings made famous by the 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters, which were housed in the compound. Investigations exposed that President Richard Nixon and his staff schemed to cover up the break-in, especially its connection with the White House, which eventually led to his resignation two years later.
Euro Capital is a property investment company that specializes in restoring iconic real estate that have fallen into disrepair. The company has not yet chosen an operator for the hotel. The seller of the property was PB Capital, a German bank.
There were more than a dozen interested parties at first, however, the competition came down to five “strong bidders,” said Mr. Magazine.