Editing Watergate complex (section)

==Watergate buildings==
[[File:Watergate complex.jpg|thumb|The Watergate complex with the [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|Kennedy Center]] visible in the background. The boxy building at middle left is the former [[Howard Johnson's]] Motor Lodge, used during the 1972 Watergate burglaries to monitor the break-ins and wiretaps across the street.]]
The entire Watergate complex was initially owned by Watergate Improvements, Inc., a division of SGI.<ref name="WillmanShudders" /> In 1969, the Vatican sold its interest in SGI and no longer was part-owner of the Watergate.<ref>"Vatican May Sell Watergate Interest." ''The Washington Post.'' June 19, 1969.</ref> Although the Watergate was considered one of the most glamorous residences in the city, as early as 1970 residents and businesses complained of substandard construction, including a leaking roof and poor plumbing and wiring.<ref name="Titanic" />

The three Watergate Apartment buildings have a total of about 600 residential units.<ref name="Cube1" /> Notable occupants over time have included: [[Alfred S. Bloomingdale]],<ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref name="LandRush" /> [[Arthur F. Burns]],<ref name=Graff>{{cite book |last1=Graff |first1=Garrett M. |author-link=Garrett Graff
 |title=Watergate: A New History |date=2022 |publisher=Avid Reader Press |location=New York |isbn=978-1982139162 |page=160}}</ref> [[Anna Chennault]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Forslund |first=Catherine |title=Anna Chennault: Informal Diplomacy and Asian Relations |location=Lanham, Maryland |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2002 |isbn=0-8420-2833-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Fischer |first=Klaus P. |title=America in White, Black, and Gray: The Stormy 1960s |location=London |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |year=2006 |isbn=0-8264-1816-3}}</ref> [[Bob Dole|Bob]] and [[Elizabeth Dole]] (Watergate South),<ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref name="EislerBait" /><ref name="Men">Bernstein, Carl and Woodward, Bob. ''All The President's Men.'' New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994. {{ISBN|0-671-89441-2}}</ref> [[Plácido Domingo]],<ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=askKOafTRy2I |last1=Keane |first1=Angela Greiling |last2=Levy |first2=Dan |title=Watergate Hotel Sold for $25 Million to PB Capital |newspaper=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=July 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602075311/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206 |archive-date=June 2, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.washingtonian.com/print/articles/5/106/11710.html |last=Hines |first=Cragg |title=Viva Domingo! |magazine=Washingtonian |date=March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614115744/http://www.washingtonian.com/print/articles/5/106/11710.html |archive-date=June 14, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="Leiby">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11646-2004May9.html |last=Leiby |first=Richard |title=What Have We Here, Watergate-gate? |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 9, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616170612/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11646-2004May9.html |archive-date=June 16, 2016 }}</ref> [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg]] (Watergate South),<ref name="ReliableSource">{{cite news |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/07/rs-watergate21.html |title=Hotel Sale Could Give the Watergate a Lift |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120820044625/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/07/rs-watergate21.html |archive-date=August 20, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="EislerBait">{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/734.html |last=Eisler |first=Kim |title=Doctor-Baiting Lawyer Has New Target: The Watergate Hotel |magazine=Washingtonian |date=June 1, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014091527/http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/734.html |archive-date=October 14, 2008 }}</ref> [[Alan Greenspan]],<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Tuccille |first=Jerome |title=Alan Shrugged: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan, the World's Most Powerful Banker |location=Indianapolis, Indiana |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |year=2002 |isbn=0-471-39906-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/15/magazine/alan-greenspan-caution-at-the-fed.html |last=Uchitelle |first=Louis |title=Alan Greenspan: Caution at the Fed |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 15, 1989 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801043828/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/15/magazine/alan-greenspan-caution-at-the-fed.html |archive-date=August 1, 2016 }}</ref> [[Monica Lewinsky]] (she stayed briefly at her mother's apartment in the complex),<ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/e/a/1998/01/26/NEWS12672.dtl |title=Lewinsky Leaves Watergate Apartment With Her Attorney |newspaper=San Francisco Examiner |date=January 26, 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/index/clinton/clin132.htm |last1=Komarow |first1=Steve |last2=Williams |first2=Jeannie |last3=Lovitt |first3=Jonathan T. |last4=Lawrence |first4=Jill |last5=El Nasser |first5=Haya |title=Growing Up Monica: Luxury, Trouble |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=February 2, 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507190429/http://www.usatoday.com/news/index/clinton/clin132.htm |archive-date=May 7, 2009 }}</ref> Senator [[Russell Long]],<ref name="MacPhersonStatus" /><ref name="Rosen" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Mann |first=Robert T. |title=Legacy to Power: Senator Russell Long of Louisiana |location=New York |publisher=Paragon House |year=2003 |orig-year=1992 |isbn=978-0595270194}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-07-sp-6567-story.html |last=Oates |first=Bob |title=He Made Football Modern |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=December 7, 1996 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014232939/http://articles.latimes.com/1996-12-07/sports/sp-6567_1_pro-football |archive-date=October 14, 2012 }}</ref> [[Clare Boothe Luce]] (after 1983),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/10/obituaries/clare-boothe-luce-dies-at-84-playwright-politician-envoy.html |last=Krebs |first=Albin |title=Clare Boothe Luce Dies at 84: Playwright, Politician, Envoy |newspaper=The New York Times |date= October 10, 1987 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801043758/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/10/obituaries/clare-boothe-luce-dies-at-84-playwright-politician-envoy.html |archive-date=August 1, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/31/magazine/in-search-of-clare-boothe-luce.html |last=Morris |first=Sylvia Jukes |title=In Search of Clare Boothe Luce |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 31, 1988 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801043755/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/31/magazine/in-search-of-clare-boothe-luce.html |archive-date=August 1, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watters |first=Susan |title=Rage for Fame: The Ascent of Clare Boothe Luce |magazine=[[Washington Monthly]] |date=September 1997}}</ref> [[Robert McNamara]],<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="ReliableSource" /> [[John N. Mitchell|John]] and [[Martha Beall Mitchell|Martha Mitchell]],<ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref name="Men" /><ref name="Rosen">{{cite book |last=Rosen |first=James |title=The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate |location=New York |publisher=Doubleday |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-385-50864-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Flink |first=Stanley E. |title=Sentinel Under Siege: The Triumphs and Troubles of America's Free Press |location=Boulder, Colorado |publisher=Westview Press |year=1998 |isbn=0-8133-3345-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Helen |title=ront Row At The White House - My Life And Times |location=New York |publisher=Scribner |year=2000 |isbn=0-684-86809-1}}</ref> [[Paul O'Neill (businessman)|Paul O'Neill]],<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.pittsburghquarterly.com/pages/library/2006winter/2006winter_048_secretarystreasure.pdf |last=Uricchio |first=Marylynn |title=Secretary's Treasure |journal=[[Pittsburgh Quarterly]] |volume=Winter 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220081020/http://pittsburghquarterly.com/pages/library/2006winter/2006winter_048_secretarystreasure.pdf |archive-date=February 20, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/business/yourmoney/20book.html |last=Eichenwald |first=Kurt |title=Washington, We Have a Problem... |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 20, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612013610/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/business/yourmoney/20book.html |archive-date=June 12, 2011 }}</ref> [[Abraham Ribicoff]],<ref name= "Graff" /> [[Condoleezza Rice]],<ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Draper |first=Robert |title=Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush |edition=Reprint |location=New York |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7432-7729-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Bumiller |first=Elisabeth |title=Condoleezza Rice: An American Life |edition=Reprint |location=New York |publisher=Random House |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8129-7713-4}}</ref> [[Mstislav Rostropovich]],<ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042700480.html |last=Barnes |first=Bart |title=Cellist-Conductor Mstislav Rostropovich Dies at 80 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217101013/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042700480.html |archive-date=February 17, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20071902,00.html |last1=Haupfuhrer |first=Fred |last2=Weinraub |first2=Judith |title=Mstislav Rostropovich's Dreams of Freedom, Wealth and Fame Now Turn to Mother Russia |magazine=People Magazine |date=October 9, 1978 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604094318/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20071902,00.html |archive-date=June 4, 2016 }}</ref> [[Maurice Stans]],<ref name="Men" /><ref name="Leiby" /> [[Ben Stein]],<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/11059.html |last=Stein |first=Ben |title=Home Sweet Home |magazine=Washingtonian |date=January 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302185201/http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/11059.html |archive-date=March 2, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2008/08/from_the_archives_the_stein_wa.html |last=Sepinwall |first=Alan |title=The Stein Way |newspaper=[[Newark Star-Ledger]] |date=August 19, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201233024/http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2008/08/from_the_archives_the_stein_wa.html |archive-date=December 1, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/migrationtemp/4476811/New-York-diary-Well-buy-Manhattan-and-throw-in-Staten-Island-too.html |last=Cave |first=Andrew |title=New York Diary: We'll Buy Manhattan, and Throw in Staten Island Too |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=January 2, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112043211/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/migrationtemp/4476811/New-York-diary-Well-buy-Manhattan-and-throw-in-Staten-Island-too.html |archive-date=November 12, 2012 }}</ref> [[Herbert Stein]],<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,35056,00.html |last=Stein |first=Joel |title=Ben Stein Also Sings |magazine=Time |date=November 28, 1999 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615183140/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,35056,00.html |archive-date=June 15, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.slate.com/id/37576/ |last=Stein |first=Ben |title=My Father's Estate |magazine=Slate |date=October 26, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119023550/http://www.slate.com/id/37576/ |archive-date=November 19, 2008}}</ref> [[John A. Volpe]],<ref name= "Graff" /> [[John Warner]] and [[Elizabeth Taylor]] (during their marriage),<ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/news/2007/sep/04/warner-leaves-lasting-legacy/print/ |last=Arundel |first=John |title=Warner Leaves Lasting Legacy |newspaper=[[Fairfax Times]] |date=September 4, 2007}}{{dead link|date=January 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> [[Caspar Weinberger]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/28/AR2006032800854.html |last1=Hoffman |first1=David |last2=Moore |first2=Molly |title=Weinberger to Step Down |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 3, 1987 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616172504/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/28/AR2006032800854.html |archive-date=June 16, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Carroll |first=James |title=House of War: The Pentagon and the Disastrous Rise of American Power |edition=Reprint |location=New York |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-618-87201-5}}</ref> [[Charles Z. Wick]],<ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref name="LandRush">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922400,00.html |title=Land Rush in Washington |magazine=Time |date=February 9, 1981 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826022514/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922400,00.html |archive-date=August 26, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1345&dat=19830707&id=m68SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nfkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3311,1478953 |title=Aide Repaying U.S. for Security System |newspaper=[[Spokane Chronicle]] |date=July 7, 1983}}</ref> and [[Rose Mary Woods]].<ref name="ReliableSource" /><ref name="Men" /> The Watergate's popularity among members of Congress and high-ranking executive branch political appointees has remained strong ever since the complex opened. So many members of the [[Richard Nixon|Nixon administration]] settled there that the Washington, D.C., press commented on it<ref>{{cite news |last=MacPherson |first=Myra |title=Watergate, Where Republicans Gather |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 25, 1969}}</ref> and nicknamed it the "Republican Bastille".<ref name="Livingston" /> The complex enjoyed a renaissance during the early 1980s and became known as the "White House West" due to the large number of [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration]] officials living there.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="LandRush" />

The Watergate complex changed hands in the 1970s, and each building was sold off separately in the 1990s and 2000s (decade) (see below). Strict lease agreements, however, have kept the apartment buildings in residents' hands: In the Watergate South, for example, owners cannot rent their unit until a full year has passed, and no lease may last more than two years.<ref name="Sanchez" /> In 1977, one of the Watergate's financiers (Nicholas Salgo) and Continental Illinois Properties bought SGI's stake in the development for $49 million.<ref>{{cite news |last=Willmann |first=John B. |title=$49 Million Paid for Units At Watergate |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 3, 1977}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/02/obituaries/02SALGO.html |last=Saxon |first=Wolfgang |title=Nicolas M. Salgo, Who Built Watergate Complex, Dies at 90 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 2, 2005}}</ref> Two years later, Continental Illinois sold its interest to the [[National Coal Board]] Pension Fund in the U.K.<ref>{{cite news |last=Willmann |first=John B. |title=British Miners Half-Owners of Watergate Now |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 16, 1979}}</ref> Salgo did the same in 1986.<ref name="Livingston" /> The coal board pension fund put the Watergate complex up for sale in 1989, and estimated the complex's worth at between $70 million and $100 million.<ref name="Haggerty">{{cite news |last=Haggerty |first=Maryann |title=Watergate Property Is Sold to Partnership |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 18, 1993}}</ref> Several buildings were sold in the 1990s (for details, see below).<ref name="Haggerty" /> The property was valued at $278 million in 1991.<ref name="Sanchez" /> Efficiency units in that year sold for $95,000, while penthouse apartments went for $1 million or more.<ref name="Sanchez" /> Various buildings were sold again in the early 2000s (decade).<ref name="Sale">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/28/AR2005092802346.html |last1=Hilzenrath |first1=David S. |last2=Hedgpeth |first2=Dana |title=Watergate Building to Be Sold |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 29, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326042913/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/28/AR2005092802346.html |archive-date=March 26, 2017 }}</ref> In 2005, all of the retail space in the complex was put up for sale.<ref name="Hedgpeth" />

Little redevelopment of the site has occurred in the 40 years since the Watergate was first built. The complex still includes three luxury apartment buildings, the hotel/office building, and two office buildings.<ref name="Cube1" /> The entire development was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on October 21, 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/listings/20051021.HTM|title=National Register of Historic Places Listings - October 21, 2005|access-date=March 27, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061013053210/http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/listings/20051021.HTM|archive-date=October 13, 2006}}</ref>

===Watergate East===
The Watergate East apartment building is probably the second-best known of the five buildings in the development. It became the most sought-after living location in the city when it opened in 1966.<ref name="MacPhersonStatus" />

Problems with the building's construction became apparent shortly after its occupancy. The roof was leaking by 1968.<ref name="Blackmail">{{cite news |last=Bernstein |first=Carl |title='Blackmail' Charged at Watergate |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 31, 1968}}</ref> In October 1968, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' published reports that SGI refused to fix the leaks unless residents dropped their opposition to the construction of the complex's fifth building.<ref name="Blackmail" /> By 1970, problems at Watergate East led the press to dub the building the "Potomac Titanic",<ref name="Titanic" /> and its residents filed suit against the developer in 1971 to correct the structure's problems.<ref name="InPlace">{{cite news |title=Problems of Watergate, 'In' Place of the Capital, Anger Residents |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 12, 1972}}</ref> Another lawsuit, filed in February 1970, sought exclusive access to the underground parking garage the cooperative claimed as its own, and demanded that the developer stop selling spaces in the residents' parking area.<ref name="InPlace" /> SGI filed a $4 million counterclaim alleging "malicious embarrassment" and five years later paid residents $600,000 to settle the cases.<ref name="Livingston" />

The Watergate East was also the site of a major protest in 1970. In the weeks before the jury verdict in the Chicago, Illinois, trial of the [[Chicago Seven]], political activists began planning and then advertising that a protest would occur at the home of [[United States Attorney General]] John N. Mitchell (who lived in the Watergate East).<ref name="Bar">"Police Bar March on Mitchell Home." ''The New York Times.'' February 20, 1970.</ref> As expected, the verdict was handed down on February 18, 1970 (all the defendants were found not guilty of conspiracy but five were found guilty of incitement to riot<ref>{{cite book |last=Schultz |first=John |title=The Chicago Conspiracy Trial |edition=Revised |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |year=2009 |location=Chicago |url = http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?isbn=9780226741147 |isbn=978-0-226-74114-7}}</ref>). That night, more than 200 people rallied at D.C.'s [[All Souls Church, Unitarian (Washington, D.C.)|All Souls Unitarian Church]] to prepare for the mass protest demonstration the next day.<ref>{{cite news |last=Valentine |first=Paul |title='Chicago 8' Supporters Prepare Protests Here |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 19, 1970}}</ref> On February 19, several hundred protestors gathered in front of the Watergate East and attempted to enter the building.<ref name="Bar" /><ref name="Arrested">{{cite news |title=145 Arrested In March on Watergate |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 20, 1970}}</ref> Several hundred police, bused in to prevent the demonstration, engaged in street fighting with protestors, forced them to retreat, and eventually launched several tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd.<ref name="Bar" /> More than 145 protesters were arrested.<ref name="Arrested" /> Although a second protest was expected the following day, it never emerged and police spent the day drinking coffee and eating cookies and pastries baked at the Watergate East's pastry shop.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref>{{cite news |last=MacPherson |first=Myra |title=Security 'Wonderful' For Watergate Area |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 20, 1970}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Colen |first=B.D. |title=Watergate Residents Happy |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 21, 1970}}</ref>

The Watergate East tenants' cooperative refinanced its mortgage some time after 2000, and bought the land beneath its building.<ref name="Wheeler" />

===Watergate Hotel and Office Building===
[[File:Watergate Hotel & Apartments.jpg|thumb|Looking up at the Watergate from the interior courtyard and shopping center]]
The Watergate Hotel and Office Building is one of the five buildings in the Watergate development.

====Watergate Hotel====
Management and ownership of the hotel have changed several times since the mid-1980s. In 1986, [[Cunard Line]], the cruise ship company, took over management of the hotel and began redecorating and refurbishing it.<ref>"Cunard to Manage Watergate." ''The Washington Post.'' April 17, 1986.</ref> The British Coal Board pension fund sold the hotel portion of the building to a British-Japanese consortium in 1990 for $48 million.<ref name="Haggerty" /> Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, the real estate affiliate of the [[Blackstone Group]], bought the hotel for $39 million in July 1998.<ref name="Cube1" /> For a few years in the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade), the Watergate Hotel was operated by the [[Swissôtel]] hotel group.<ref name="Cube1" /> But the hotel underperformed other Swissôtel operations of similar size, location, and price.<ref name="Cube1" /> [[Jean-Louis Palladin]]'s [[:wikt:eponym|eponym]]ous restaurant in the building closed in 1996.<ref name="EislerBait" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/26/us/jean-louis-palladin-55-a-french-chef-with-verve-dies.html |last=Asimov |first=Eric |title=Jean-Louis Palladin, 55, a French Chef With Verve, Dies |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 26, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322160417/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/26/us/jean-louis-palladin-55-a-french-chef-with-verve-dies.html |archive-date=March 22, 2017 }}</ref> The hotel subsequently underwent a renovation in 2000.<ref name="AIAGuide" /> Swissôtel was purchased by [[Raffles Hotels and Resorts]], and Raffles' management contract ended in May 2002.<ref name="Cube1" />

Blackstone began managing the hotel, and put it up for sale in the fall of 2002 (with an asking price of $50 million to $68 million).<ref name="Cube1" /> Monument Realty bought the hotel for $45 million in 2004 and planned to turn it into luxury apartment co-ops.<ref name="Rein">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/21/AR2009072101619.html |last=Rein |first=Lisa |title=No Buyer for Watergate at Auction |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616174730/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/21/AR2009072101619.html |archive-date=June 16, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="Wilted">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/18/AR2009071802087.html |last1=Rein |first1=Lisa |last2=Ricard |first2=Martin |title=A Wilted Watergate Awaits Highest Bidder at Auction |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 19, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420132027/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/18/AR2009071802087.html |archive-date=April 20, 2017 }}</ref> But many residents in other parts of the complex (some of whom owned the 25 percent of the hotel not sold to Blackstone)<ref name="EislerBait" /> argued that a hotel would better enhance the livability of the area and challenged the conversion in court.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/25/AR2007022501276.html |last=Hart |first=Kim |title=Watergate Hotel May Not Go Co-Op After All |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106102431/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/25/AR2007022501276.html |archive-date=January 6, 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Lengel">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/05/AR2007080501217.html |last=Lengel |first=Allan |title=Watergate Hotel Shuts Down to Spruce Up |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616174052/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/05/AR2007080501217.html |archive-date=June 16, 2016 }}</ref> The hotel closed on August 1, 2007, for a $170 million 18-month renovation, during which the hotel rooms were intended to be roughly doubled in size to {{convert|650|sqft|m2}}.<ref name="Lengel" /> But the renovation never occurred, and the building sat empty—consuming $100,000 to $150,000 a month in security, heating, electricity, water, and other costs.<ref name=Wilted/> Lehman Brothers, Monument Realty's financing partner, went bankrupt in 2008 and Monument was forced to attempt to sell the property.<ref name=Wilted/> No buyer emerged and the Blackstone Group regained ownership of the hotel.<ref name=Wilted/>

The Blackstone Group transferred the Watergate Hotel to its Trizec Properties subsidiary. Trizec did not pay the hotel's property taxes for 2008 (which amounted to $250,000), and estimated that it would take $100 million to make the hotel habitable due to the stalled 2007 renovation.<ref name=Wilted/> The hotel was put on the market in May 2009, but once again no buyer emerged. The hotel was auctioned off on July 21, 2009 (with the minimum bid beginning at $25 million), but there were no buyers and [[Deutsche Postbank]], which held the $40 million mortgage on the property, took over ownership.<ref name=Rein/><ref name=Wilted/> The bank began marketing the property for sale, and Monument Realty submitted a bid in October 2009 to buy the hotel back.<ref name=ReinBuyBack>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/17/AR2009121704363.html |last=Rein |first=Lisa |title=Monument Realty Will Buy Back Foreclosed Watergate Hotel |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616175116/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/17/AR2009121704363.html |archive-date=June 16, 2016 }}</ref> Monument was outbid by developer Robert Holland and the [[Jumeirah (hotel chain)|Jumeirah Group]] (a luxury hotel chain based in [[Dubai]]), but the deal collapsed in November 2009 when financing fell through.<ref name=ReinBuyBack/> Euro Capital Properties purchased the hotel in May 2010 for $45 million, with plans to rehabilitate it over the next two years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/26/AR2010052605239.html |last=Rein |first=Lisa |title=Watergate Hotel Sold |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 27, 2010 |access-date=November 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203170201/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/26/AR2010052605239.html |archive-date=December 3, 2017 }}</ref>

Euro Capital announced its year-long, $85 million renovation of the hotel in January 2013. Among the improvements it wished to make were the addition of six outdoor "summer gardens" where liquor may be served. The plan would require the approval of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, which voted to protest the liquor licenses unless the company reached an agreement with all the tenant associations in the Watergate cooperative.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2013/01/watergate-hotel-owners-estimate-spring.html |last=Sernovitz |first=Daniel J. |title=Watergate Hotel Owners Estimate Spring 2014 Reopening |newspaper=Washington Business Journal |date=January 24, 2013 |access-date=February 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128083729/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2013/01/watergate-hotel-owners-estimate-spring.html |archive-date=January 28, 2013 }}</ref> A year later, the company said its design team, led by the architectural firm [[BBGM]], had completed a plan to increase the number of luxury hotel rooms from 251 to 348, renovate the lobby to add a bar and lounge, add a restaurant with some outdoor seating, and add a rooftop bar with a small water feature. Euro Capital also said it would seek a hotel management company to continue to operate the Watergate Hotel as an independent hotel. Construction on the new interior elements was planned to start in March 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/top-shelf/2014/01/details-emerge-on-the-watergate-hotel.html |last=Cooper |first=Rebecca |title=Watergate Hotel Renovation to Include Nearly 100 More Luxury Rooms |newspaper=Washington Business Journal |date=January 14, 2014 |access-date=January 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118175717/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/top-shelf/2014/01/details-emerge-on-the-watergate-hotel.html |archive-date=January 18, 2014 }}</ref>

Euro Capital received the construction permits for its now $100 million renovation in May 2014. Architect Bahram Kamali of BBGM said the renovation would completely replace the electrical, [[HVAC]], mechanical, and plumbing (fresh water and sewage) systems. The renovation now featured two new restaurants, upgraded ballrooms, and a new spa and fitness area.<ref name=grunelytapped/> The meeting space, which was quite small by industry standards, was expanded to {{convert|17000|sqft|m2}}, and the [[ballroom]] enlarged slightly to {{convert|7000|sqft|m2}}. Watergate officials said the new rooftop bar will seat 350, and other internal structural changes will add nearly 100 guest rooms.<ref name=reopenhotel>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/digger/wp/2014/12/04/watergate-hotel-to-re-open-after-125-million-renovation/ |last=O'Connell |first=Jonathan |title=Watergate Hotel to Re-Open After $125 Million Renovation |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 4, 2014 |access-date=December 4, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210175750/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/digger/wp/2014/12/04/watergate-hotel-to-re-open-after-125-million-renovation/ |archive-date=December 10, 2014}}</ref> Kamali said the interior would feature expensive, high-quality plaster, stone, and wood finishes, but the exterior's iconic textured concrete balconies would remain unchanged except for repairs, repainting, and new windows. Grunley Construction would oversee all the renovations.<ref name=grunelytapped>{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2014/10/grunley-tapped-for-100-watergate-hotel-renovation.html |last=Cooper |first=Rebecca |title=Grunley Tapped for $100M Watergate Hotel Renovation |newspaper=Washington Business Journal |date=October 3, 2014 |access-date=October 3, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006151321/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2014/10/grunley-tapped-for-100-watergate-hotel-renovation.html |archive-date=October 6, 2014}}</ref> Israeli artist and interior decorator [[Ron Arad (industrial designer)|Ron Arad]] designed all the metal sculptures and other work that would be featured in the hotels' bar, lobby, and other interior space.<ref name=reopenhotel/>

The cost of the renovation was pegged by Euro Capital at $125 million in November 2014. The 336-room hotel reopened in 2016, nine years after it had closed.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/05/the-watergate-hotels-renovation-embraces-its-scandalous-past#5 |title=The Watergate Hotel's Renovation Isn't Afraid to Embrace Its Scandalous Past |last=Green |first=Stephanie |date=May 19, 2016 |magazine=Vanity Fair |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220025556/http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/05/the-watergate-hotels-renovation-embraces-its-scandalous-past |archive-date=February 20, 2017 }}</ref>

====Office building====
The office building portion of the building contains {{convert|198000|sqft|m2}}.<ref name="Hedgpeth" />

In 1972, the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) occupied the entire sixth floor of the 11-story building at 2600 Virginia Avenue.<ref name="LewisPlot">{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Alfred E. |title=5 Held in Plot to Bug Democrats' Office Here |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 18, 1972}}</ref><ref name="Kessler">{{cite book |last=Kessler |first=Pamela |title=Undercover Washington: Where Famous Spies Lived, Worked, and Loved |location=Sterling, Virginia |publisher=Capital Books |year=2005 |isbn=1-931868-97-2}}</ref> The DNC had occupied the space since the building opened in 1967.<ref name="Democrats" /> On May 28, 1972, a team of burglars working for [[1972 United States presidential election#Republican nomination|President Richard M. Nixon's re-election campaign]] bugged the phones of and took photos in and near the DNC chairman's office.<ref name="Kutler" /><ref name="Men" /><ref name="Emery">{{cite book |last=Emery |first=Fred |title=Watergate |edition=Paperback |location=New York |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1995 |isbn=0-684-81323-8}}</ref> The [[Wiretapping|phone taps]] were monitored from the burglars' rooms (first Room 419, later Room 723) at the Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge across the street at 2601 Virginia Avenue NW.<ref name="Kutler" /><ref name="Men" /><ref name="Kessler" /><ref name="Emery" />{{efn|As of 2005, the hotel was owned by [[The George Washington University]] and used as a dormitory for graduate students.<ref name="Kessler" />}} During a second burglary on June 17, 1972, to replace a malfunctioning phone tap and collect more information, five of the burglars were arrested and the [[Watergate scandal]] began to unfold.<ref name="LewisPlot" /><ref name="Kutler" /><ref name="Men" /><ref name="Emery" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Szulc |first=Tad |title=Democratic Raid Tied to Realtor |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 19, 1972}}</ref> A plaque on the sixth floor of the office building portion of the Watergate Hotel commemorates the break-in.<ref>{{cite book |last=Carrier |first=Thomas J. |title=Washington, D.C.: A Historical Walking Tour |location=Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=0-7385-0049-6}}</ref> The sixth floor space, occupied by [[SAGE Publishing]] since 2015, houses a private exhibit commemorating the break-in and ensuing scandal.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-watergate-icon-now-quietly-celebrated-in-a-company-office/2016/02/23/77d1b4b4-d9b9-11e5-891a-4ed04f4213e8_story.html |title=A Watergate icon, now quietly celebrated in a company office |last=Zauzmer |first=Julie |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 23, 2016}}</ref>

The break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters was not the first break-in at the Watergate. The first break-in at the complex was the burglary of a residential unit in 1969 owned by [[Rose Mary Woods]], President Nixon's personal secretary.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="WoodsBurglary">{{cite news |title=Nixon Secretary Reports Looting |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 3, 1969}}</ref> The burglars took jewelry and some personal items.<ref name="WoodsBurglary" /> Woods was later accused of [[Nixon White House tapes#18½-minute gap|erasing {{frac|18|1|2}} minutes]] from President Nixon's secret [[Oval Office]] audio taping system—specifically, the tape from June 20, 1972, that proved central to the Watergate scandal.<ref name="Kutler" /><ref name="Men" /><ref name="Emery" />

In 1993, the British coal board pension fund sold the office portion of the building as well as the land under two of the three Watergate apartment buildings to JBG (now [[JBG Smith]]), an American firm, and Buvermo Properties, a Dutch company.<ref name="Haggerty" /> In 1997, they sold the office building to [[The Blackstone Group]]'s [[Trizec Properties]] division.<ref>{{cite news | last=Haggerty | first=Maryann | title=JBG Selling 21 Buildings to Canadian Company | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=September 30, 1997}}</ref> Trizec sold it to BentleyForbes, a private firm owned by [[C. Frederick Wehba]] and members of the Los Angeles-based Webha family, in 2005.<ref name="Hedgpeth" /><ref name="Rein" /><ref name="SoldForbes" /> In November 2011, after 20 months on the market, BentleyForbes sold the office building for $76 million to the Penzance Cos.<ref>{{cite news | last=O'Connell | first=Jonathan | title=Source: Penzance Lands Watergate Offices for $76 Million | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=November 22, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/12/AR2009031203271.html |last=Hedgpeth |first=Dana |title=Real Estate Firm Puts Watergate Office Tower Up for Sale |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=March 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106102433/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/12/AR2009031203271.html | archive-date=January 6, 2017 | url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2012, the owner implemented a multimillion-dollar upgrade to the Watergate Office Building's lobby, common areas, and Virginia Avenue entrance.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2013/01/penzance-cos-signs-first-tenant-to.html |last=Sernovitz |first=Daniel J. |title=Penzance Signs First Tenant to Watergate Building | work=[[American City Business Journals]] |date=January 18, 2013 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> Hitt Contracting designed the renovations, and oversaw the construction.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2012/06/11/watergate-to-undergo-renovations.html | last=Sernovitz | first=Daniel J. |title=Watergate to undergo renovations |work=[[American City Business Journals]] | date=June 11, 2012 | url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106101819/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2012/06/11/watergate-to-undergo-renovations.html | archive-date=January 6, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Penzance sold the office building to a subsidiary of Rockwood Capital for $75 million at the end of 2016.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/01/03/the-infamous-watergate-office-building-has-a-new.html |last=Sernovitz |first=Daniel J. | title=The infamous Watergate office building has a new owner| work=[[American City Business Journals]] |date=January 3, 2017 | url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105165629/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/01/03/the-infamous-watergate-office-building-has-a-new.html |archive-date=January 5, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Brian Friedman acquired the building in 2019 for $101.5 million.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenhowley/2019/09/29/watergate-break-in-building-sells-for-1015m-to-dc-developer/ | title=Watergate Break-In Building Sells For $101.5 Million To D.C. Developer | first=Kathleen | last=Howley | work=[[Forbes]] | date=September 29, 2019 | url-access=limited}}</ref>

===Watergate South===
Among the notable people who have lived at the Watergate South is former Secretary of State [[Condoleezza Rice]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/05/26/daily35.html |title=BentleyForbes takes Watergate office property off the market |newspaper=Washington Business Journal |date=May 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530230032/http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/05/26/daily35.html |archive-date=May 30, 2008 }}</ref> As with the Watergate East, residents of this building have discussed buying the land beneath their building, but there is no urgency as the lease on the land does not expire until 2070.<ref name="Wheeler" />

===Watergate West===
Construction problems and leaks at Watergate West led the press to ridicule this building, like others in the complex, as the "Potomac Titanic".<ref name="Titanic" /> On March 2, 1971, residents of the Watergate West filed a lawsuit against SGI in which they claimed their units had defective stoves, faulty air conditioning, leaky windows and balconies, and deficient plumbing.<ref name="InPlace" /> SGI said the problems were similar to those with any new building, and that it had already spent $300,000 on repairs.<ref name="InPlace" />

Like the Watergate East, residents of this building have discussed buying the land beneath their building but do not need to do so until the land lease expires in 2070.<ref name="Wheeler" />

===Watergate 600===
Britain's [[National Coal Board]] Pension Fund sold the Watergate Office Building to [[John Hancock Financial|John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance]] in the early 1990s.<ref name="Haggerty" /> The building's office spaces were renovated in 1994,<ref name="AIAGuide" /><ref name="SoldForbes">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-11-fi-rup11.4-story.html |title=Watergate Building Sold to BentleyForbes Group |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=October 11, 2005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014233104/http://articles.latimes.com/2005/oct/11/business/fi-rup11.4 |archive-date=October 14, 2012 }}</ref> while the entire building saw extensive renovations in 1997.<ref name=sernowashreit>{{cite news |last=Sernovitz |first=Daniel J. |title=Washington Real Estate Investment Trust to acquire part of the Watergate complex |work=Washington Business Journal |date=March 22, 2017|access-date=March 23, 2017 |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/03/22/washington-real-estate-investment-trust-to-acquire.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323195935/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/03/22/washington-real-estate-investment-trust-to-acquire.html|archive-date=March 23, 2017}}</ref>

''[[The Atlantic]]'' magazine owner [[David G. Bradley]] purchased the building in 2003.<ref name="Sale"/> He renovated it once again, expanding its lobby and restaurant space.<ref name=sernowashreit />

In March 2017, Bradley sold the building to the Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WashREIT) for $135 million plus ownership in a WashREIT operating unit.{{Efn|An operating unit is an autonomous subsidiary of a corporation which owns assets, incurs liability, and has its own independent management.}} WashREIT said it would continue renovating various spaces, upgrade and expand the rooftop amenities, and build a new fitness center and conference center.<ref name=sernowashreit />