Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C.
| Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C. | |
|---|---|
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| General information | |
| Location | United States |
| Address | Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′01″N 77°01′49″W / 38.883621°N 77.030367°WCoordinates: 38°53′01″N 77°01′49″W / 38.883621°N 77.030367°W |
| Opening | May 16, 2004 |
| Cost | $155 million |
| Management | Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group |
| Height | 130 feet (40 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 11 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Mark Boekenheide of Brennan Beer Gorman Monk Architects |
| Developer | Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Lano International Inc., and Armada Hoffler Construction Co. |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 400 rooms (inclusive of suites) |
| Number of suites | 53 |
| Number of restaurants | 2 |
| Website | |
| www.mandarinoriental.com/washington | |
Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C. is a luxury Postmodernist-style hotel located at 1330 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, D.C., in the United States. Completed in 2004, the hotel is near the National Mall and Smithsonian Institution museums, and overlooks the Tidal Basin. The hotel contains two restaurants, one of which (CityZen) closed permanently on December 6, 2014. Since its opening, the Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C., has been AAA-rated four diamonds and Forbes Travel Guide rated four stars.
In the 1970s, most of the Southwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., was completely razed in a massive urban renewal effort. One of the last large parcels to be redeveloped was the area bounded by 12th Street SW, D Street SW, Maine Avenue SW, and 14th Street SW. More than a decade passed, as the city sought a developer with sufficient financial resources to develop the tract. In 1985, a team led by Republic Properties finally was chosen by the city to develop what became known as The Portals, four massive office buildings constructed around an extension of Maryland Avenue SW and a new traffic circle. But the developers ran into problems obtaining financing for the entire project, and sold the southeastern portion of the site. The new development team consisted of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Lano International Inc., and Armada Hoffler Construction Co.
In early 2000, Mandarian Oriental Hotels proposed building a $142 million, 400-room hotel on the site. The hotel included 33,000 square feet (3,100 m2) of meeting space, 6,500 square feet (600 m2) of retail space, several restaurants, and a fitness center. Mandarian Oriental Hotels sought major tax breaks and financing from the District of Columbia to develop the hotel. Initially, they sought $22 million in tax increment financing (TIF). Under this scheme, the city would sell 20-year bonds worth $22 million, and would turn 75 percent of the money over to the developers. The hotel would pay the usual property and sales taxes, estimated to be $220 million over the life of the bonds. But due to $20 million in increased costs, Mandarin Oriental Hotels was unable to secure all the private financing it needed. The hotel chain returned to the city and asked for $46 million in TIF bonds as well as a $6 million property tax break. The city approved the TIF bonds, but not the property tax reduction.
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