The real-estate market may be down, but that isn’t stopping former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer from making a new investment.

Spitzer, who resigned last year after his relations with a prostitute were made public, confirmed to the The Wall Street Journal yesterday that he’s spending $180 million to buy a 13-story Washington, DC, building. His father’s real-estate firm helped facilitate the deal.

The building, located at 1615 L St. NW, is a mere block away from the Mayflower Hotel, the hotel where Spitzer and his preferred call girl, Ashley Dupree, used to have their secret encounters. Asked whether he had taken this proximity into consideration, Spitzer replied, “No. We are buying a great building. That’s why we are buying it."

Though the investment may seem unwise during these rough economic times, Spitzer insisted he sees a brighter future, "We are optimists … What we are facing is as much a psychological hurdle as a real economic hurdle." We wonder what psychological effect this new business move will have on Spitzer’s wife, Silda.