Donald Trump Sells His Washington DC Hotel To Miami-Based Investor Group

After the Trump Organization reportedly reached a $375 million agreement to sell the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. to a Miami investor group, the hotel is officially closed.

On Wednesday, the Trump Organization said that it had completed the sale of a long-term lease of the Trump International Hotel to CGI Merchant Group of Miami, reported ABC News. The 263-room hotel's new owners planned to remove the Trump name from the facade and rebrand it a Waldorf Astoria. Soon after the sale, workers were seen removing signage from the hotel Wednesday night. The group of investors includes former baseball star Alexander Rodriguez.

Many hotel owners, brokers, and consultants did not expect the property down the street from the White House to get such a high price. The high price, which is equivalent to more than $1.4 million a room, has drawn scrutiny from some of the lawmakers of the Democratic party. Earlier this month, the US House Oversight Committee asked for documents from CGI listing the names of its investors.

The property was a magnet for diplomats, lobbyists and others seeking to curry favor with the former U.S. President Donald Trump. According to Democrats, it sullied the reputation of the presidency, pitted his financial interest against public interest and possibly broke the law. Many lawsuits challenging Trump's ownership of the lease were not successful.

The hotel, which is still formally owned by the federal government, is the former Old Post Office building. Trump's company won rights to fix up the building and use it as a hotel. This was in exchange for paying the government annual rent and a cut of profit upon a sale. In 2013, after signing a lease with the General Services Administration for the property, Trump hung a big blue-and-white banner on Pennsylvania Avenue. It said, “TRUMP, Coming 2016.”

The Washington Post reported that construction was done almost as his presidential campaign concluded, and the hotel opened within weeks of his Presidential election win.

According to Axios, the hotel lost more than $70 million during Trump's term, but it was a mainstay for lobbyists. Later it became the center of ethics scandals.

The former President's son, Eric Trump, who is the Trump Organization's executive vice president, said that they took a "dilapidated and underutilized government building and transformed it into one of the most iconic hotels in the world." He added that they are "incredibly proud of what we accomplished."

The hotel, Waldorf Astoria Washington, D.C., is expected to open by early summer.