Hotel & HospitalityLindsay SaundersTue 12 May 26
Trump Organisation Pulls Out of Gold Coast Golden Tower Scheme
The Trump Organisation has abandoned plans for a proposed Trump-branded luxury tower on the Gold Coast, ending a high-profile partnership with Australian developer Altus Property Group just months after the project was unveiled.
The proposed 91-storey development at Surfers Paradise was slated to include a 285-key luxury hotel, hundreds of high-end apartments and a private beach club, with the developers claiming it would become Australia’s tallest tower if approved.
A spokeswoman for the Trump Organisation said the company had withdrawn because its Australian licensing partner had failed to meet required obligations tied to the deal.
Altus Property Group chief executive David Young rejected that claim and said the split was a commercial decision, according to a media statement.
“Let’s just say that with the Iran war and everything else, the Trump brand was increasingly unpopular in Australia,” Young said.
“Some time ago, we knew it was time to part company. It wasn’t about not meeting obligations.
“To be clear, this 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 project is continuing.”
Young said the project would continue under a different luxury brand and insisted the broader development remained active despite the Trump Organisation’s departure.
The project was announced earlier this year after discussions involving Eric Trump and representatives from Altus Property Group, with plans centred on a vacant beachfront site at 3 Trickett Street at Surfers Paradise.
The tower proposal generated significant controversy on the Gold Coast, with community petitions opposing the development reportedly attracting more than 120,000 signatures.
The proposed site has a long development history after an earlier Chinese-backed supertower scheme known as Spirit stalled and was later abandoned.
Questions had also emerged around the viability of the project following scrutiny of Altus Property Group and its founder, including reports into the collapse of a previous development company linked to Young.
