ISLAMABAD: Three bids have been submitted for a facility that once housed the defense division of Pakistan’s embassy in the capital of the US.
According to diplomatic sources in Washington, the Jewish organization that wants to construct a synagogue in the structure made the highest offer of over $6.8 million.
The details show that an Indian real estate agent placed the second bid of roughly $5 million, while a Pakistani real estate agent placed the third bid of about $4 million.
As per the Pakistani-American real estate agents, the building would be sold to the highest bidder.
One of Pakistan’s three diplomatic buildings in Washington, a structure on the famous R Street NW, was up for sale, according to officials from the Pakistani embassy, who informed sources earlier this month.
However, they made it clear that neither the new nor the old embassies were up for sale. Between the mid-1950s and the early 2000s, the embassy’s defense division was situated in the R Street building.
Earlier on Monday, the New York Roosevelt Hotel property was to be leased, and the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCoP) requested the privatization commission name a financial advisor.
Besides, embassy representatives in Washington said that they were also contacting an appraiser to determine whether it would be preferable to sell the building as-is or after restoration.
The embassy representative said that they were not in a haste, and would not sign a deal that did not benefit Pakistan as the deal had already received federal cabinet approval.
Earlier, posts on social media featured two structures, the current and former embassies, and claimed that these 2 structures were also for sale.
However, embassy representatives said that none of these two buildings was for sale.
The details showed that the former embassy was located on Massachusetts Avenue, near the Indian embassy, in the center of town while the present embassy is housed in a new structure built in the early 2000s.
The embassy relocated to a new structure in the early 2000s, but it is still retaining the old structure and has spent close to $7 million repairing it and the ambassador’s official house, which is located nearby.
