Foreclosed Watergate Hotel to be auctioned

WASHINGTON, July 16 (UPI) -- A Washington complex that was the site of a burglary that led to the Watergate scandal and the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon is to be auctioned.

The Watergate, made famous by the 1972 burglary, will be auctioned Tuesday after owners Monument Realty, a Washington real estate developer, defaulted on a $40 million loan balance, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

A 30-day city foreclosure notice, sent to Monument last month after the company defaulted on its loan, expired Thursday.

Monument officials said two weeks ago they hoped New York lender PB Capital Corp. would agree to new terms, the Post said.

Monument had sought to restore the Watergate -- located across from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts -- to its glory days as a Washington icon, the Post said.

It tried in 2004 to turn the 1967 office-apartment-hotel complex into luxury co-ops, but had a legal battle with neighbors. Last year, it was ready redevelop the Watergate as a luxury hotel, but Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., a partner and equity investor in the property, declared bankruptcy.

A Monument spokeswoman would not comment to the Post on the auction by Alex Cooper Auctioneers Inc.

The winning bidder will be required to put down $1 million, the Post said.

The Watergate scandal began with the arrest of five men for breaking and entering the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate June 17, 1972.

The scandal resulted in the indictment and conviction of several of Nixon's closest advisers and ultimately Nixon's own resignation Aug. 9, 1974.