One of the most recognizable corners of Pennsylvania Avenue just officially left Uncle Sam’s portfolio. The General Services Administration on Wednesday, announced it has sold the Old Post Office building at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, the landmark that houses the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC, to affiliates of BDT & MSD Partners. The deal transfers federal ownership of the Romanesque 19th-century pavilion to the existing leaseholder and comes with binding protections intended to preserve public access to the clock tower. GSA
In a news release, the GSA said the sale "supports GSA’s ongoing effort to reduce the federal government’s real estate holdings and concentrate resources on core assets," and noted that the agency executed covenants to protect the building’s architectural character while keeping the clock tower open to the public. The release added that the American people will retain ownership of the site’s major artworks through a dedicated fine-arts covenant and that the sale price was set by an independent, third-party appraisal. GSA
BDT & MSD confirmed the acquisition to Bisnow but declined to say what it paid for the property. Bisnow reported that The Wall Street Journal put the sale price at roughly $80 million. The outlet noted that the transaction has not yet been recorded in D.C. property records and that the company already holds the long-term lease to the 263-room Waldorf Astoria that occupies the building. Bisnow also pointed out that the GSA has moved other D.C. assets recently, including the Liberty Loan building and a nearly 1 million-square-foot regional office building. Bisnow
The sale caps a drawn-out real estate saga that included an ownership change and a foreclosure. Reporting noted that BDT & MSD effectively took control of the hotel leasehold at an August 2024 foreclosure auction after CGI Merchant Group defaulted on its loan. That foreclosure followed the Trump Organization’s 2022 sale of its lease interest and the rebranding of the property as the Waldorf Astoria. The Real Deal
What the sale preserves
The GSA stressed that the transaction includes "strong protections" for the building’s historic fabric and covenants to preserve public access to the clock tower, an observation point many locals and visitors use. According to the agency, private investors have put more than $250 million into the property since its conversion to a hotel, and taxpayer revenues tied to the site over the last decade, including this sale, are expected to exceed $110 million. GSA
What it means for the hotel and Pennsylvania Avenue
On the ground, not much changes for guests checking in. The transaction places the landmark fully under private ownership while the Waldorf Astoria operations continue inside the restored pavilion. The hotel, shifted into the Waldorf Astoria flag after the Trump-era lease changes, is listed on Hilton’s site as the Waldorf Astoria Washington DC and is described in hospitality coverage as a 263-room luxury property. Local observers say the transfer eases a long stretch of ownership uncertainty for one of Pennsylvania Avenue’s most closely watched addresses. Hilton Bisnow
From here, officials and local stakeholders pivot to the paperwork and the fine print: the sale still has to be recorded in D.C. land records, and the preservation covenants will guide any future changes to the building’s public spaces and art holdings. Observers say the move is a bellwether for the administration’s wider push to right-size federal property holdings in the District and across the country. The Real Deal
