Plan for Trump Tower on Gold Coast stopped

By Emily Dobson

ABC Gold Coast

Topic: Urban Development and Planning

The plan to build a Trump Tower on the Gold Coast has been stopped.

In short:

A plan to build a Trump Tower at Surfers Paradise has fallen through.

The Trump Organization has removed the project from its website, while the developer says the brand is toxic.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says the deal was likely stopped for financial reasons.

Plans for a $1.5 billion Trump Tower on the Gold Coast have been stopped less than three months after the deal was made. The project is no longer happening.

The 91-storey, branded tower was announced on social media in late February by Eric Trump, US President Donald Trump's second son.

The luxury resort proposed for Surfers Paradise was pitched as Australia's tallest building, but Altus Property Group chief executive and founder David Young said the Trump Organization had pulled out.

David Young and Eric Trump have ended their deal less than three months after making it.

Let's just say that with the Iran war and everything else, the Trump brand was increasingly toxic in Australia.

Some time ago, we knew it was time to part company.

Plans pulled from Trump Organization website

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization said the company had been excited to bring the project to the Gold Coast, but that Altus failed to meet certain obligations.

After months of negotiations and empty promises, Altus Property Group was unable to meet the most basic financial obligation.

Plans have been pulled from the Trump Organization's website, but the company spokesperson said it looked forward to exploring other potential projects to bring Trump property to Australia.

ABC investigations into Mr Young found the Queensland businessman had twice declared bankruptcy and had run businesses that collapsed owing millions.

The businessman behind Trump Tower ran a development company that collapsed owing $28 million.

In a statement to the ABC, Mr Young said he still hoped a tower would be built on the site.

It was not about not meeting obligations. There are other luxury brand options for us. The project is live. Mr Young is still hopeful.

A development application for the project was never lodged with the City of Gold Coast.

Despite this, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said he knew why the deal fell through.

Tom Tate says the deal did not work for either party.

He said it had less to do with relationships and more to do with profit margins.

It's all about money.

Cr Tate met with Donald and Eric Trump at Mar-a-Lago in the days before the deal was announced, with the Trump Organization footing the cost of Cr Tate's meals, accommodation and transfers.

The Trump Organization wants a lot more for their brand on the funding side of things, to operate it and the percentage of return.

Meanwhile the developer's going, 'Well, I'm putting in all of my money in and you're actually going to take quite a lot of profit', so I think that's why they're parting ways.

Industry sources who have spoken to financiers approached to fund the project said some investors had been wary about the risk associated with a luxury hotel on the Gold Coast.

Proposal sparks community protest

The Surfers Paradise site has existing council approval for an 89-storey tower and is owned by consortium 3 Trickett Street Pty Ltd.

It has been vacant for more than a decade and has passed through the hands of several owners.

Residents, tourists and investors weighed in on the proposal when it was first announced, dividing the city, with numerous petitions against the Trump Tower garnering more than 120,000 signatures.

The site at Surfers Paradise has existing council approval for a 89-storey tower, but no development application was lodged for a Trump-branded tower.

The campaign to stop the project also led to a small protest at the Gold Coast council chambers earlier this month.

A petition in support of the build gained roughly 3,500 signatures.

Gold Coast investor Jordan Quoc-Tien Hoai Nguyen was one such supporter.

He said the empty block had become a symbol of wasted opportunity in the city.

At some point, something has to be built.

The council should be putting pressure on developers to move projects forward instead of allowing prime land to remain unused indefinitely.

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