Editing Watergate complex (section)

===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>