Inside Scoop Behind Trump's DC Hotel

Repositioning historic DC icons isn't for the faint of heart, even the Trump Organization. We went behind the facade of the future Trump International Hotel to find out some of the painstaking work being done to preserve the Old Post Office Pavilion. We’ll have even more on May 28 during our DC's Repositioning Boom event at the Reagan Building, staring at 7:45am. 

Trump International's facade will remain nearly untouched but many interior aspects of the project are being rehabilitated, including bringing more light through its 100 X 200-foot skylight and repairing all of the windows, Trump Organization acquisitions and development SVP David Orowitz tells us. The adjacent annex building was recently taken down and that space will become a new stone facade drop-off destination for the hotel. The $200M transformation is on pace to deliver next summer. 

Dave tells us the company's putting in environmentally friendly glass in the skylight, which will reduce heat capture in the grand lobby, but still give patrons great views of the sky and clock tower. Trump's also refurbishing the windows, which are over 100 years old and made of wood. The company hired a craftsman to remove the windows, take them apart, refurbish them, and put them back in. It’s much more expensive than putting in new windows, but Dave says it was important to preserve the historic character of the building. 

This is Trump’s first hotel project in downtown DC, but its third in the area along with Trump National Golf Club in Sterling and Trump Winery near Charlottesville. Dave says the federal government is figuring out how to deal with excess inventory and repositioning projects are a viable option for GSA and great opportunities for developers who can understand the requirements. Hear about more repositioning trends next Thursday morning at our DC Repositioning Boom event at the Reagan Building. We'll also honor real estate legend Oliver Carr. Sign up here!