Federal agency grants Trump D.C. hotel rental credit of $534,000 for maintaining clock tower
Leasing experts say credit illustrates unique arrangement between the Trump-owned business and the government
By Jonathan O'Connell and David A. Fahrenthold
August 3 at 6:12 PM
The General Services Administration granted a $534,000 rental credit to the Trump Organization’s D.C. hotel for providing “security, utilities and janitorial services” to support tours of the building’s clock tower run by the National Park Service, federal officials said, an adjustment that contracting experts say illustrates the highly unusual arrangement between the company owned by President Trump and the federal government.
When Trump leased the federal Old Post Office Pavilion from the government in 2013 and opened his hotel there three years later, he agreed to pay $3 million annually in base rent -- plus a percentage of profits depending on the hotel’s performance -- minus credits to the company for services it provided for the clock tower tours.
Last year the Trump Organization paid $2,901,904.96 after the government credited the company for maintaining the clock tower, elevators and corridors where the Park Service tours take place, according to the GSA. In 2016 the company paid the government $3,045,541.24 in rent, the agency said.
There is no evidence of any wrongdoing in the adjustment. Trump’s lease allows for such credits, in a clause saying that the GSA is responsible for paying clock tower costs “either directly to Tenant or via a Rent credit.”
But the decision to grant the rental credit highlights what critics call a challenging position for GSA officials in their dealings with the Trump Organization, now run by Trump’s adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/08/03/federal-agency-grants-trump-dc-hotel-rental-credit-maintaining-clock-tower/
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