Photo by Rich Renomeron

The Old Post Office officially came under the control of Donald Trump yesterday, when the bilious billionaire with the thatched hairdo signed a lease with the General Services Administration to convert the landmark building into his newest luxury hotel.

The Trump Organization, led by Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, intends to spend more than $200 million on building what the father-and-daughter development team has referred to as an “incredibly grand” hotel, conference center, and spa on the heart of Pennsylvania Avenue NW. With the signing of the lease, the Trumps will begin paying the GSA a monthly lease of $250,000.

The lease signing was able to go through following congressional approval of Trumps’ contract with the GSA, and with the inking of documents, more superlatives flowed from Trump Tower. “This is an exciting moment in the Trump Hotel Collection history,” Donald Trump said in a press release that presented his company’s name in all-caps. “We are thrilled to move forward with our plans to transform one of the nation’s most iconic landmarks into the world’s finest hotel. It is a responsibility we do not take lightly.”

Very serious stuff, indeed.

In addition to the monthly rent for the hotel, which has a targeted opening of 2016, the Trump Organization will also be paying D.C.’s possessory income tax, which is levied on vendors and contractors that conduct business on government properties that are otherwise exempted from local property taxes. The tax, which is applied at the same rate as the District’s property tax, is 1.65 percent for the first $3 million in assessed value, and 1.85 percent for any property value thereafter.