Gold Coast Trump tower plan dropped as developer calls brand ‘toxic’

SYDNEY: Plans for a $1.1 billion Trump-branded hotel and apartment tower on Australia’s Gold Coast have been abandoned, with the project’s developer saying the American brand had become ‘toxic’ in the country.

The Trump Organisation had announced the 91-storey development in February, presenting it as a major beachfront project on Australia’s eastern coast. At the time, the company said the proposed Trump tower would ‘redefine beachfront sophistication’.

David Young, chief executive of Australian developer Altus Property Group, said the scheme had now been shelved because of how the Trump name was being viewed in Australia. In a post on LinkedIn, Young said the Trump brand had become ‘toxic to Australians’.

Even so, he indicated that the broader development itself had not been abandoned and could still go ahead under a different name. Young said he remained committed to completing the project with another luxury brand.

Referring to the timing of the decision, Young wrote: ‘The writing was on the wall when the war started and I have been in discussions with many high-end luxury brands,’ he said in a post on LinkedIn.

Young also said there was no dispute between him and the Trump family over the cancellation of the branding arrangement. He noted that the Trump Organisation is managed by President Donald Trump’s adult sons rather than by the US president himself, and described the brand’s damaged standing as ‘grossly unfair’.

"‘There is no acrimony between the Trump family and myself, why would there be after knowing them for 19 years when no one here then even knew who Donald Trump was. It is pure business," Young added.

The project had been billed as a high-profile addition to the Gold Coast skyline before the branding plan was dropped. Young’s comments made clear that the decision related to the marketability of the Trump name in Australia rather than a breakdown in relations with the family behind the business.

Project announced in February

When the development was unveiled earlier this year, the Trump Organisation said the tower would bring a new level of luxury to the beachfront. The plan called for a combined hotel and apartment building rising 91 storeys, with an estimated value of $1.1 billion.

The latest announcement means the Trump name will no longer be attached to the proposed tower, although the developer has said efforts are continuing to find an alternative high-end brand for the project.