Plans to build a huge Trump Tower in an upmarket Australian resort have fallen through, with developers blaming the project’s failure on the “toxic” Trump brand.
Construction on the 91-story tower at Queensland’s Surfers Paradise—advertised as the tallest building in Australia—had been due to start in August. Eric Trump, President Donald Trump’s son, posted a mocked-up image of the tower in February.
“This marks our first venture into Australia—an extraordinary country in every respect—and I couldn’t be more excited to help shape its iconic skyline forever.“ he posted on X, adding ”More to come…"
But on Tuesday Altus Property Group CEO David Young announced that he had pulled the plug on the deal, citing ongoing Middle East conflicts and the president’s tarnished reputation.
“Let’s just say that with the Iran war and everything else, the Trump brand was increasingly toxic in Australia,” he told Australia’s NewsWire.
“Some time ago, we knew it was time to part company.”
News of the Trump-branded construction on the site, which has been vacant for over a decade, divided locals.
Over 120,000 people signed petitions against the construction of the Trump Tower Down Under.
Surfers Paradise is an affluent resort on the Gold Coast south of Brisbane, with luxury high-rise apartments on the waterfront priced at around $2.5 million.
A spokeswoman for the Trump Organization claimed plans for its first building in Australia fell through due to issues on the developer’s end.
“While we were very excited about the opportunity to bring a world-class development to the Gold Coast, the project was dependent on our licensing partner meeting certain obligations. Unfortunately, those obligations were not fulfilled,” the spokeswoman told NewsWire.
She also accused Young of using the conflict in the Middle East as a distraction from other issues.
“After months of negotiations and empty promise after empty promise on a supposed $1.5 billion project, Altus Property Group was unable to meet the most basic financial obligation due upon the execution of the agreement,” the spokeswoman said.
“Mr Young’s attempt to blame certain world events for our termination of the agreement is merely a ploy to distract from his own defaults and failures.”
The Trump Organization has now removed the project from its website, although it remains on the Altus Property Group site.
Australian media organization ABC investigated Young’s history and found that he had twice declared bankruptcy, and headed businesses that collapsed owing millions.
Young told the ABC 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,” he said.
The developer also told NewsWire that the tower “was not a Trump project. That was always a misunderstanding in the media. It is an Altus project.
“We are negotiating with the top brands around the world, of which The Trump Organization was one.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Trump Organization and Altus Property Group for comment.
Craig Hill, who organized one of the petitions against the tower, told NewsWire he was thrilled with the result.
“(This is) Australians uniting together for a common cause–we took on the President of the United States and beat him,” he told NewsWire.
“This is what happens when Australians unify. If (the developers) want to go ahead with the building, we’d be quite happy about that—it was mainly the Trump brand.”
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate met with Donald and Eric Trump at Mar-a-Lago before the deal was announced, with the trip funded by the Trump Organization, not local taxpayers.
“It’s all about money,” Tate told ABC Gold Coast on Wednesday.
“The Trump Organization wants a lot more for their brand on the funding side of things, to operate it and the percentage of return,” Tate said.
“(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.”
