Editing Watergate complex (section)

==History==
===Planning===
The Watergate complex was developed by the Italian firm SGI.<ref name="Lindsay">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/1754.html |last=Lindsay |first=Drew |title=The Watergate: The Building That Changed Washington |magazine=Washingtonian |date=October 1, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602105949/http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/1754.html |archive-date=June 2, 2010 }}</ref><ref name="RomanGiant">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,940272,00.html |title=Roman Giant |magazine=Time |date=January 25, 1963 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824035448/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,940272,00.html |archive-date=August 24, 2013 }}</ref> The company purchased the {{convert|10|acre|m2}} that belonged to the defunct [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal]] in February 1960 for [[United States dollar|$]]10 million.<ref name="Lindsay" /><ref name="RomanGiant" /><ref name="Willmann">{{cite news |last=Willmann |first=John B. |title=Foggy Bottom Gas House Site To Get Facelift |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 22, 1961}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/06/17/focus11.html |last=Livingston |first=Mike |title=Watergate: The Name That Branded More Than A Building |newspaper=Washington Business Journal |date=June 14, 2002 |quote=At least one source claims the land was purchased for just $7 million. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223075238/http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/06/17/focus11.html |archive-date=February 23, 2009 }}</ref> The project was announced on October 21, 1960.<ref name="Willmann" /> [[Luigi Moretti]] of the [[Sapienza University of Rome|University of Rome]] was the chief architect, and Milton Fischer of the D.C.-based firm of Corning, Moore, Elmore and Fischer the associate architect.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="Wheeler" /><ref name="AIAGuide">{{cite book |last1=Moeller |first1=Gerard Martin |last2=Weeks |first2=Christopher |title=AIA Guide to the Architecture of Washington, D.C. |edition=4th |location= Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-8018-8468-3}}</ref><ref name="Lindsay" /><ref name="Willmann" /><ref name="EisenTouch">{{cite news |last=Eisen |first=Jack |title=Architect Plans 'Touch of Rome' |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 6, 1963}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Architect Milton Fischer Dies: Assisted on Foxhall, Watergate |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 6, 1999}}</ref><ref name="WillmanShudders">{{cite news |last=Willman |first=John B. |title=Watergate's Architect Shudders at Conformity |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 27, 1965}}</ref><ref name="NewHotel">{{cite news |title=New Hotel and Offices in Capital |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 16, 1967}}</ref> The apartment buildings included two-story units on the first and second floors, while the top-floor units had private rooftop [[Terrace (building)|terraces]] and [[fireplace]]s.<ref name="MacPhersonStatus">{{cite news |last=MacPherson |first=Myra |title=Foggy Bottom Takes Place Among Addresses of Status |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 25, 1966}}</ref><ref name="Livingston" /> The design for the entire complex also envisioned an electronic security system so extensive that the press claimed "intruders will have difficulty getting onto the grounds undetected."<ref name="Livingston" /> Boris V. Timchenko, a noted D.C.-based [[landscape architect]], supervised the design of the grounds, which included more than 150 planters, tiers of fountains designed to create sounds like a waterfall, landscaped rooftop terraces, swimming pools, and a {{convert|7|acre|m2|adj=on}} park.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="NewHotel" /> Landscape features such as planters would also be used to create privacy barriers between apartments.<ref name="EisenTouch" /> The complex was the first [[mixed-use development]] in the District of Columbia,<ref name="Sanchez">Sanchez, Carlos. "Watergate Blends Luxury, Convenience." ''The Washington Post.'' March 23, 1991.</ref><ref name="Cube1">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/11/25/story1.html |last=Cubé |first=Christine |title=Watergate Hotel for Sale |magazine=Washington Business Journal |date=November 22, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604091951/http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/11/25/story1.html |archive-date=June 4, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/05/20/story8.html |last=Cubé |first=Christine |title=Giuseppe Cecchi: The Private Developer |magazine=Washington Business Journal |date=May 17, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509235247/http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/05/20/story8.html |archive-date=May 9, 2010 }}</ref> and was intended to help define the area as a business and residential rather than industrial district.<ref name="NewHotel" /> The Watergate complex was intended to be a "city within a city", and provide so many amenities that residents would not need to leave. Among these were a 24-hour receptionist, room service provided by the Watergate Hotel, health club, restaurants, shopping mall, medical and dental offices, grocery, pharmacy, post office, and liquor store.<ref name="Sanchez" /> At the time, it was also the largest renewal effort in the District of Columbia undertaken solely with private funds.<ref name="Clopton" />

Initially, the project was to cost $75 million and consist of six 16-story buildings comprising 1,400 apartment units, a 350-room hotel, office space, shops, 19 luxury "villas" ([[townhouses]]), and three-level underground parking for 1,250 vehicles.<ref name="Wheeler" /><ref name="Willmann" /><ref name="EisenTouch" /> The Watergate's curved structures were designed to emulate two nearby elements. The first was the proposed [[Inner Loop (Washington, D.C.)|Inner Loop Expressway]], a curving freeway expected to be built just in front of the Watergate within the next decade.<ref name="Livingston" />{{efn|Three circumferential [[beltway]]s had been proposed for the Washington, D.C., area in 1956. The innermost beltway, which would have formed a flattened oval centered on the Kennedy Center/Watergate complex in the west, running southwest along what is currently [[Ohio Drive (Washington, D.C.)|Ohio Drive SW]] until it linked with the Southwest Freeway portion of [[Interstate 395 (District of Columbia-Virginia)|I-395]], north along I-395 to [[K Street (Washington, D.C.)|L Street NW]], and then west along a tunnel beneath K Street NW to join near the western nexus with the [[Whitehurst Freeway]] and [[Interstate 66#District of Columbia 2|I-66]]—completing the loop. Two decades of protest led to the cancellation of all but the I-395 portion of the plan in 1977.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Levey |first1=Bob |last2=Levey |first2=Jane Freundel |title=End of The Roads |newspaper=The Washington Post |date= November 26, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Schrag |first=Zachary M. |title=The Freeway Fight in Washington, D.C.: The Three Sisters Bridge in Three Administrations |journal=Journal of Urban History |volume=30 |number=5 |date=July 2004|doi=10.1177/0096144204265171 |s2cid=144196119 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Mohl |first=Raymond A. |title=The Interstates and the Cities: The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Freeway Revolt, 1966–1973 |journal=Journal of Policy History |volume=20 |number=2 |year=2008|pages=193–226 |doi=10.1353/jph.0.0014 |s2cid=154486374 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Schrag |first=Zachary M. |title=The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-8018-8246-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Rose |first=Mark H. |title=Interstate: Express Highway Politics, 1939–1989 |edition=Revised |location=Knoxville, Tennessee |publisher=University of Tennessee Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-87049-671-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Eisen |first=Jack |title=Md. Vetoes I-95 Extension Into District |newspaper=The Washington Post |date= July 13, 1973}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Feaver |first=Douglas B. |title=Three Sisters Highway Project Is Killed – Again |newspaper=The Washington Post |date= May 13, 1977}}</ref>}} The second was the nearby Kennedy Center, then in the planning stage and whose original design was supposed to be curvilinear.<ref name="AIAGuide" /><ref name="Lindsay" /> Although the Kennedy Center later adopted a rectangular shape for cost reasons, the Watergate complex's design did not change.<ref name="Lindsay" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Gutheim |first1=Frederick Albert |last2=Lee |first2=Antoinette Josephine |title=Worthy of the Nation: Washington, D.C., From L'Enfant to the National Capital Planning Commission |edition=2nd |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-8018-8328-8}}</ref> Incidentally, the curved structures would also give apartment dwellers an excellent view of the Potomac River.<ref name="EisenTouch" /> Because of the curves in the structure, the Watergate complex was one of the first major construction projects in the United States in which computers played a significant role in the design work.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="Sanchez" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Computers Help Lay Out Plan at Watergate |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 14, 1964}}</ref>

===Approval controversies===
Because the District of Columbia is the seat of the United States government, proposals for buildings in the city (particularly those in the downtown area, near federal buildings and monuments) must pass through an extensive, complex, and time-consuming approval process. The approval process for the Watergate complex had five stages. The first stage considered the proposed project as a whole as well as the first proposed building.<ref name="GoAhead" /> The remaining four stages considered the four remaining proposed buildings in turn.<ref name="GoAhead" /> At each stage, three separate planning bodies were required to give their approval: The [[National Capital Planning Commission]] (NCPC), the District of Columbia Zoning Commission (DCZC), and the [[United States Commission of Fine Arts]] (USCFA) (which had approval authority over any buildings built on the Potomac River to ensure that they fit aesthetically with their surroundings).<ref name="White">{{cite news |last=White |first=Jean M. |title=Woes Stall Watergate Project |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 18, 1963}}</ref>

In December 1961, 14 months after the project was publicly announced, the NCPC voiced its concern that the project's 16-story buildings would overshadow the Lincoln Memorial and the proposed "National Cultural Center" (later to be called the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts).<ref name="Clopton">{{cite news |last=Clopton |first=Willard |title=Board Opposition Rises to Watergate Apartment Project |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 24, 1961}}</ref> At the time, the District of Columbia had a {{convert|90|ft|m|adj=on}} height limit on all buildings except for those located exclusively along business streets.<ref name="Clopton" /> To obtain a height waiver, SGI would have to include retail office space in the complex, but the site was then zoned only for apartment buildings.<ref name="Clopton" /> Thus, initial approval first had to be won from the District of Columbia Zoning Commission.<ref name="Opponents" />

By the time the DCZC met to consider approval in mid-April 1962, the cost of the project had been scaled back to $50 million.<ref name="Opponents">{{cite news |title=Watergate Project Foes Present Views to Zoners |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 14, 1962}}</ref> Because the District of Columbia lacked [[District of Columbia home rule|home rule]], DCZC planners were reluctant to act without coordinating with agencies of the federal government.<ref name="Opponents" /><ref name="GoshkoChange" /> Additionally, many civic leaders, architects, [[Businessperson|business people]], and [[Urban planner|city planners]] opposed the project before the DCZC because they feared it was too tall and too large.<ref name="Opponents" /> By the end of April, DCZC had announced that it would delay its decision.<ref name="Isaacs">{{cite news |last=Isaacs |first=Stephen |title=Watergate Zoning Hearing Scheduled |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 30, 1962}}</ref> The Commission of Fine Arts also had concerns: it felt some of the land should be preserved as public space<ref name="Clopton" /> and objected to the height of the proposed buildings as well as their [[Modern architecture|modern]] design.<ref name="FineArtsDelay">{{cite news |title=Fine Arts Wins Delay In Watergate Zoning |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 19, 1962}}</ref> Three days after the DCZC meeting, the USCFA announced it was putting a "hold" on the Watergate development until its concerns were addressed.<ref name="FineArtsDelay" /> To counter this resistance, SGI officials met with members of the USCFA in New York City in April 1962 and defended the complex's design.<ref name="Isaacs" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |title=Controversy Widens on Design Of Development in Washington |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 29, 1962}}</ref> SGI also reduced the planned height of the Watergate to 14 stories from 16.<ref name="Livingston">{{cite news |url=http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/06/17/focus11.html |last=Livingston |first=Mike |newspaper=Washington Business Journal |date=June 14, 2002 |title=Watergate: The Name That Branded More Than A Building |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223075238/http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/06/17/focus11.html |archive-date=February 23, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="Wheeler" /> In May 1962, the NCPC reviewed the project. Additional revisions in the design plan pushed the cost back up to $65 million, even though only 17 villas were now planned.<ref name="RomanGiant" /> Based on this proposal, the NCPC approved the Watergate plan.<ref>{{cite news |title=NCPC Reaffirms Watergate Stand |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 11, 1962}}</ref>

With the support of the NCPC, SGI dug in its heels: It declared it was not interested in developing the unsightly, abandoned commercial site unless its basic curvilinear design (now called "Watergate Towne") was approved, and it lobbied DCZC commissioners in late May, lecturing them on the District's architectural heritage and the beauty of modern architecture.<ref name="Sanchez" /><ref name=GoshkoMay1962130Feet>{{cite news |last=Goshko |first=John M. |title=130-Ft. Height Or Nothing, Say Towne Backers |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 16, 1962 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Commissioners Hear Watergate's Designer |last=Goshko |first=John M. |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 18, 1962}}</ref> SGI officials also lobbied the USCFA. Meanwhile, [[White House]] staff made it known that the [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy administration]] wanted the height of the complex lowered to {{convert|90|ft|m}}.<ref name="Livingston" /> Three key staff were opposed to the project on height grounds: [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.]], Special Assistant to the President; August Heckscher III, Special Consultant on the Arts; and William Walton, a Kennedy family confidant.<ref name="SternWH">{{cite news |last=Stern |first=Laurence |title=White House Acts to Cut Height of Huge Watergate Development |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 5, 1962}}</ref> The three briefed President [[John F. Kennedy]] on the issue, but it was not clear who made the decision to request the height reduction or who made the request public.<ref name="SternWH" /> The White House announcement surprised many, and offended federal and city planners, who saw it as presidential interference in their activities.<ref name="SternWH" />

SGI's chief architect, [[Gabor Acs|Gábor Ács]], and Watergate chief architect Luigi Moretti flew to New York City on May 17 and defended the complex's design in a three-hour meeting with USCFA members.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="GoshkoChange">{{cite news |last=Goshko |first=John M. |title=Watergate Apartment Designs Changed by Architect Agreement |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 19, 1962}}</ref> SGI agreed to shrink three of the planned buildings in the development to 13 stories (112&nbsp;ft), with the remaining building rising to {{convert|130|ft|m}}.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="Wheeler" /><ref name="GoshkoChange" /> SGI also agreed to add more open space by reducing the size of the Watergate to {{convert|1.73|e6sqft|m2}} from {{convert|1.911|e6sqft|m2}} and by reorienting or re-siting some of the buildings.<ref name="GoshkoChange" /> The USCFA gave its assent to the revised construction plan on May 28, the White House withdrew its objections, and the DCZC gave its final approval on July 13.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="Isaacs" /><ref name="GoshkoWins">{{cite news |last=Goshko |first=John M. |title=Design for Watergate Towne Development Wins Fine Arts Commission Endorsement |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 29, 1962}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Goshko |first=John M. |title=Zoning Board Yields on 130 Feet As Height for Towne Apartments |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 30, 1962}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Stern |first=Laurence |title=New Watergate Towne Plan Favored |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 12, 1962}}</ref><ref name="FinalDCApproval">{{cite news |last=Stern |first=Laurence |title=High-Rise Watergate Towne Given Final D.C. Approval |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 14, 1962}}</ref> The final plan broke one building into two, creating five rather than four construction projects.<ref name="GoshkoWins" /><ref name="FinalDCApproval" /> Moretti later admitted he probably would have lowered the height of the buildings anyway,<ref name="EisenTouch" /> and thought that the approval process had gone relatively smoothly.<ref name="WillmanShudders" /> Construction was expected to begin in spring 1963 and last five years.<ref name="FinalDCApproval" />

The Watergate project faced one final controversy. The group [[Americans United for Separation of Church and State|Protestants and Other Americans United for Separation of Church and State]] began a national letter-writing campaign opposing the project, alleging that the zoning waivers would not have been given had [[Catholic Church|the Vatican]] not been a major investor in SGI.<ref name="Sanchez" /><ref name="Protestants">{{cite news |title=Towne Plan Stirs Row by Protestants |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 17, 1962}}</ref> By mid-November 1962, more than 2,000 protest letters had been sent to Congress and another 1,500 to the White House.<ref name="Protestants" /> But the group's attempt to stop construction failed, and the project went forward.

The project won its $44 million financial backing in late 1962, and its construction permits in May 1963.<ref name="White" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Willenson |first=Kim |title=Watergate Towne Gets Financing, Awaits Permit |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 14, 1962}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Willenson |first=Kim |title=Watergate Plan Clears Final Zoning Hurdle |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 4, 1963}}</ref> Construction began on the first building, the Watergate East apartment, in August 1963.<ref name="Wheeler" /><ref name="WGEast">{{cite news |title=Watergate Noses Up |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 3, 1964}}</ref> The builder was Magazine Bros. Construction.<ref name="Livingston" /> Groundbreaking occurred in August 1963, and major excavation work was complete by May 1964.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="Wheeler" />

The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts attempted once more to revise the project. In October 1963, the USCFA alleged that the height of the Watergate complex, as measured from the parkway in front of it, would exceed the agreed-upon height restrictions.<ref name="White" /> SGI officials, however, contended that architects are required by law to measure from the highest point on the property on which they are to build; using this measurement, the building met the May 1962 agreement stipulations.<ref name="White" /> On January 10, 1963, SGI and the USCFA agreed that the height of the complex would not exceed {{convert|140|ft|m}} above water level (10&nbsp;inches below that of the nearby Lincoln Memorial), that fewer than 300 apartment units would be built (to reduce population congestion), and to eliminate the proposed luxury villas (to create more open space).<ref name="GoAhead">{{cite news |title=Development of Watergate Towne Gets Go-Ahead on Ground Breaking |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 25, 1964}}</ref> Luxury penthouse apartments, however, could extend above the {{convert|140|ft|m|adj=on}} limit if they were [[Setback (architecture)|set back]] from the edge of the building and the 14th floor was foregone.<ref name="GoAhead" /> With these adjustments, the total cost of the first apartment complex (excluding plumbing, electricity, and decoration) was estimated at $12,184,376.<ref name="GoAhead" />

===Construction===
Construction proceeded. The foundation and basement of the first building, the {{convert|110|ft|m|adj=on}} Watergate East, were completed by September 1964, and the metal and concrete superstructure rose in October.<ref name="WGEast" /> In September 1964, the Watergate's developers signed a first-of-its-kind agreement under which the Washington Gas Light Co. would provide the entire complex with its heating and air conditioning.<ref>"Watergate, Gas Co. Sign Unusual Pact." ''The Washington Post.'' September 9, 1964.</ref> The Watergate East was completed in May 1965, and a month later the first model apartment unit was opened to the public for viewing.<ref>"First Watergate Building Nearly Ready." ''The Washington Post.'' May 22, 1965; "Watergate Apartment Model Opens." ''The Washington Post.'' June 19, 1965.</ref> The building formally opened on October 23, 1965, and the first tenants moved in a few days later.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref>"Formal Opening Wednesday For Watergate East." ''The Washington Post.'' October 24, 1965; "Watergate East Gets First Tenants." ''The Washington Post.'' October 24, 1965.</ref> Prices for the 238 [[Housing cooperative|cooperative apartment]] units ranged from $17,000 for efficiencies to more than $250,000 for penthouses, and were almost completely sold out by April 1967.<ref name="MacPhersonStatus" /><ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="NewHotel" /> The average apartment contained two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a dining room, and a kitchen, and cost $60,000.<ref name="MacPhersonStatus" /> Each parking space in the underground garage cost $3,000.<ref name="MacPhersonStatus" /> The tenants took title to their building on April 8, 1966.<ref>"Watergate Operating As 'Co-Op'." ''The Washington Post.'' April 9, 1966.</ref> In November, a [[Safeway Inc.|Safeway]] supermarket, a [[Peoples Drug]] (now known as [[CVS/pharmacy|CVS pharmacy]]), beauty salon, barber shop, bank, bakery, liquor store, florist, dry cleaner, post office, upscale shops, and high-end restaurant took up residency in the retail space on the ground floor.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="NewHotel" /><ref name="InPlace" /><ref>{{cite news |title=New Peoples Drug Opens in Watergate |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 6, 1966}}</ref> Riverview Realty was the leasing agent for the complex.<ref name="Livingston" />

Construction began on the second building, the 11-story office building and hotel, in February 1965.<ref>{{cite news |title=Watergate Project Enters Second Phase |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 5, 1965}}</ref> Both opened on March 30, 1967; the Watergate Hotel welcomed its first guests the same day.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Watergate Apartment Hotel Opens |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 1, 1967}}</ref> The 12-story hotel initially included 213 rooms, while the 12-story office building, attached to the hotel by a [[colonnade]], had {{convert|200000|sqft|m2}} of office space.<ref name="NewHotel" /> The combined hotel/office building included a health club, space on the ground floor for shops, and a restaurant, the Roman Terrace, on the top floor.<ref name="Livingston" /><ref name="NewHotel" /> Later in April, the [[Democratic National Committee]] leased office space in the building's retail office portion.<ref name="Democrats">{{cite news |title=Democrats to Take New Headquarters |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 26, 1967}}</ref>

The third building in the complex, Watergate South,<ref name="Sanchez" /> opened in June 1968. It contained 260 residential units, more than any other building in the complex.<ref>{{cite news |title=Watergate Opening |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 23, 1968}}</ref>

Construction on the fourth building in the complex, the Watergate West apartments, began in July 1967.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fourth Building Started |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 1, 1967}}</ref> Apartments in the unfinished building, priced from $30,000 to $140,000, began selling in October 1967, an indication of how popular the complex was with District residents.<ref name="InPlace" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Watergate Selling In Fourth Building |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 7, 1967}}</ref> The Watergate West [[Topping out|topped out]] on August 16, 1968, at which point the cost of the project had risen to $70 million.<ref name="Spreads">{{cite news |title=Watergate Complex Spreads Out |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 17, 1968}}</ref> Construction was completed in 1969.<ref name="Livingston" />

===Fifth building===

Controversy arose over the construction of the Watergate Office Building, the complex's fifth and final structure. Its original design called for a {{convert|140|ft|m|adj=on}} structure with the upper floors set back to create more space and light.<ref name="Morgan" /> But in June 1965, as excavation and clearing began for the Kennedy Center, its advocates began agitating to lower the planned height of the final Watergate building.<ref name="Morgan">{{cite news |last=Morgan |first=Dan |title=Watergate Facing New Height Fight |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 17, 1965}}</ref> The [[general counsel]] for the Kennedy Center told the USCFA that the Watergate Town (the development had dropped the "e") was planning a {{convert|170|ft|m|adj=on}} building that would harm the aesthetics of the Kennedy Center and intrude on its park-like surroundings.<ref name="Morgan" /> The Watergate's attorneys responded that their building would stay within the agreed-upon {{convert|140|ft|m|adj=on}} height.<ref name="Morgan" />

The disagreement continued for nearly two years,<ref>{{cite news |title=Kennedy Center Protests Apartments |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 16, 1967}}</ref> delaying the planned fall 1967 start to construction.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Meersman |first=Roger |title=The Kennedy Center: From Dream to Reality |volume=50 |journal=Records of the Columbia Historical Society |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Columbia Historical Society |year=1980}}</ref> Watergate apartment residents such as Senator [[Wayne Morse]] lobbied the USFCA, DCZC, and NCPC to force SGI to accede to the Kennedy Center's wishes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sen. Morse Backs Watergate Plans |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 19, 1967}}</ref> In November 1967, the USCFA reaffirmed its approval of the Watergate project.<ref>{{cite news |title=Watergate Plans Reaffirmed |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 16, 1967}}</ref> When the DCZC appeared on the verge of giving its approval as well, the Kennedy Center argued that the DCZC had no jurisdiction over the controversy.<ref name="WestZoners">{{cite news |last=West |first=Hollie I. |title=Zoners Firm in Center Fight |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 19, 1967}}</ref> The DCZC disagreed, and re-asserted its jurisdiction.<ref name="WestZoners" /> The Kennedy Center then argued that the DCZC had not properly considered its objections, and should delay its approval pending further hearings.<ref name="RulingDueSoon">{{cite news |title=Watergate Ruling Due Soon |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 25, 1967}}</ref> The District's legal counsel disagreed, giving the DCZC the go-ahead to reaffirm (or not) its approval ruling,<ref name="RulingDueSoon" /> which the Zoning Commission did on November 30, 1967.<ref>{{cite news |title=Zoning Unit Approves 5th Building in Watergate Project |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 1, 1967}}</ref>

Although it appeared that SGI was winning the legal battle over the fifth building, D.C. city planners attempted to mediate the dispute between the Kennedy Center and the Watergate and achieve a contractual rather than legal solution. Three separate proposals were made to both sides on December 7, 1967.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hoagland |first=Jim |title=Alternatives Offered in Watergate Rift |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 8, 1967}}</ref> On April 22, 1968, SGI agreed to turn its fifth building slightly to the southwest in order to open up the Watergate complex a little more and give the Kennedy Center a bit of open space.<ref>{{cite news |title=Watergate Defers To Kennedy Center |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 23, 1968}}</ref> Although the Kennedy Center accepted the proposal, it demanded that the fifth building include apartment units, rather than be completely devoted to office space, to maintain the area's residential nature.<ref name="Compromise">{{cite news |title=Compromise Plan Ends Watergate Controversy |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 9, 1968}}</ref> The fight now moved to the NCPC. In June 1968, the NCPC held a hearing at which more than 150 Watergate apartment residents clashed with SGI officials over the nature of the final building.<ref>{{cite news |last=West |first=Hollie I. |title=Board Hears Watergate Zoning Row |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 27, 1968}}</ref> On August 8, 1968, SGI and the Kennedy Center reached a resolution, agreeing that only 25 percent of the fifth building's {{convert|1.7|e6sqft|m2}} would be used as office space and that the remaining space would become apartment units.<ref name="Compromise"/> The NCPC approved the revised plan in November 1968, and the DCZC did so five weeks later, specifically zoning the building for nonprofit and professional use only.<ref>{{cite news |last=Clopton |first=Willard 
|title=New Design Approved For Watergate Project |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 8, 1968}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Commercial Zoning Denied Watergate |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 17, 1968}}</ref>

The fifth building was completed in January 1971.<ref name="Wheeler" /> Its first tenant was the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which secured occupancy in February 1971, and its first major tenant was the Manpower Evaluation and Development Institute, which leased the entire eighth floor.<ref name="Livingston" /> In October 1972, several high-end fashion boutiques, jewelers, and a restaurant opened in a retail space named "Les Champs".<ref name="Livingston" />

The total cost of the project was $78 million.<ref name="Sanchez" />

===Critical reception===
[[File:Watergate complex washington.jpg|thumb|Characteristic architecture of the Watergate complex]]
The Watergate's initial reception was poor, but the complex soon became recognized as one of D.C.'s finest examples of modern architecture. When models of the Watergate were unveiled in 1961, critics said the structure "would ruin the waterfront".<ref name="Livingston" /> Other critics denounced it as "nonconforming" and decried it as "Antipasto on the Potomac".<ref name="Isaacs" /> As noted above, many individuals also felt the complex blocked views of the Potomac River, tended to overshadow nearby monuments and other buildings, and consumed too much open space. Some residents even felt the construction of the units was substandard.<ref name="Titanic">{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Philip D. |title=Watergate: Potomac Titanic |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 3, 1970}}</ref> Architectural critics called the detailing "clunky".<ref name="AIAGuide" />

The ''[[Washington Star]]'' newspaper, however, was an early proponent of the Watergate. In May 1962, it editorialized: "It is true that the so-called 'curvilinear' design is at variance with most commercial architecture in Washington. But in our opinion the result, which places a premium on public open space and garden-like surroundings, and which proposes a quality of housing that would rank with the finest in the city, would be a distinct asset."<ref name="Livingston" /> The curving design has continued to draw praise. A noted 2006 guidebook to the city's architecture concluded that the Watergate brought a "welcome fluidity" to the city's boxy look.<ref name="AIAGuide" /> Others praised the complex's internal public spaces. When the Watergate East opened in 1965, ''The Washington Post'' called these areas opulent and evocative of the best in Italian design.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wagner |first=Ruth |title=Oriental Opulence and Italian Grandeur |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 6, 1965}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' characterized the design as "sweeping", and complimented each building's spectacular views of the Potomac River, Virginia skyline, and monuments.<ref name="NewHotel" /> Many residents later said the flowing lines reminded them of a graceful ship.<ref name="MacPhersonStatus" />

===Watergate II===
In 1970, as the Watergate was nearing completion, SGI proposed building a "Watergate II" apartment, hotel, and office complex on the waterfront in [[Alexandria, Virginia]], several miles down the Potomac River from the original Watergate.<ref>{{cite news |last=Edwards |first=Paul G. |title=8-Acre High Rise Site Eyed |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 22, 1970}}</ref> Although the project initially received support from Alexandria city officials and business people, residents of the city's [[List of neighborhoods in Alexandria, Virginia#Old Town|Old Town]] strongly objected.<ref>{{cite news |last=Edwards |first=Paul G. |title=Alexandria Likes Idea of Watergate |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 23, 1970}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Edwards |first=Paul G. |title=Waterfront Plan Backed In Alexandria |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 10, 1971}}</ref><ref name="Swap">{{cite news |last=Omang |first=Joanne |title=Alexandria Land Swap Is Proposed |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 21, 1973}}</ref> The project stalled for two years due to protests from residents and a land dispute regarding title to the waterfront land on which the project was to be sited.<ref name="Swap" /><ref name="WillmanSecurity">{{cite news |last=Willman |first=John B. |title=Security to Be Tight At Watergate Landmark |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 8, 1973}}</ref>

The Watergate II project was eventually abandoned in favor of a much larger complex near [[Landmark Mall]] in Alexandria (a site nowhere near water).<ref name="WillmanSecurity" />