Convention Center To Buy Property for $400M Hotel

WASHINGTON, DC-The Washington Convention Center Authority is taking small steps toward a big goal. In an effort to cull land near the new 2.3-million-sf Washington Convention Center, the WCCA has committed to purchasing a half-acre parcel from the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry. The land, at the corner of Massachusetts and 9th Streets NW, will be used to develop a $400-million 1,220-room hotel complex that, if negotiations proceed as planned, could carry the Marriott flag.

The property includes a 90-year-old office building that is on the National Register of Historic Places and sits right next to the convention center, which is located at 801 Mount Vernon Pl. NW. WCCA, which proposed to give United Association a $900,000 deposit on the property a few weeks ago, wasn’t the only party interested in the property. Lubert-Adler Management Inc., a Philadelphia-based real estate firm, offered United Association $30 million for the site despite the fact that United Association was not openly marketing the property. Those involved with the impending transaction have not revealed the price WCCA will pay for the site.