Last month, the GSA selected the Trump Organization to breathe life into the historic Old Post Office at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, the iconic building begun in 1892 that now stands as the tallest building (Washington Monument excepted) in the city. The building survived at least two attempts to raze it, ironically for lack of money to do the job, but the Bush administration made its redevelopment a priority, and the result was pressure on the GSA that resulted in the current plan.In the works is a 250-room Trump hotel with restaurants and a spa, replacing what has been federal office space and seldom-visited food and retail court. Construction could commence in in 2014 with completion in 2016. "The Trump Organization plan will preserve the historic nature of the building and improve the vitality of Pennsylvania Avenue, said Robert Peck, GSA's Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service said in a statement.
Washington D.C. real estate development news
8 comments:
I think its Important to note that the Architect for Trump is:
Arthur Cotton Moore
So much mention of Trump and the Landmark but scarce mention of him. I think the whole reason Trump won this bid was because they had him on board...personally I think he is one of DC's greatest Architects.
Arthur Cotton Moore has done some amazing things around town, but the fact is that when the renovation on the Old Post Office will begin, he will be pushing 80 years old.
It seems that the GSA had no concerns over the cyclical nature of the hotel industry, the awful reputation of Trump, the fact Trump has never done a project within DC or that his financial offer was supposedly less than other bidders when they made their selection. If they selected Trump strictly based on ACM, then that paints a sorry picture of the selection process.
Actually, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is taller, making the Old Post Office the second tallest building in the city.
It doesn't matter if he's turning 80. Starchitects never design anything. They are just the name. It's always the 20 minions on the staff that actually do any work. He may sign off on things, but he is certainly not sitting at a desk drawing.
Further, Trump isn't doing anything, either. That's what his project staff is for. And they will get a big dose of frustration when they end up spending years getting the GSA to approve every single design feature. Welcome to DC!
Moore is hardly a starchitect. that word is becoming too over used.
at least his style is in the vein that would bring the classical rigor that is required for this historic structure.
Yes, if ACM were indeed a "starchitect" then the Books Plus store that he designed for the Great Hall of the MLK Jr. Memorial Library would not have been scrapped (the library tried to auction it off and only one bid was received which turned out to be invalid).
Arthur does not have twenty minions. He's a hands on man. And we are very lucky that he got the job.
Sally Berk
ACM is the only entity on his staff besides his wife that I know of, hes flying solo for the most part, I think that makes him unique. this guy is straight classic.
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