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Letter to the editor

Two Trump projects put on simmer

He cites poor market for the southeast Florida residential projects.

By JAMES THORNER
Published October 30, 2007

Trump Tower Tampa may be hanging on by a thread, but the New York real estate mogul seems to have severed the cord on two other residential projects in southeast Florida.

Earlier this month, Trump announced he'd suspended work on Trump Las Olas Beach Resort, a 12-story condo-hotel planned for the strand of Fort Lauderdale.

"At this moment, to build in this market would be foolish," Trump told the Miami Herald this month.

Now comes word that Trump Tower Palm Beach could meet the same fate. In a story in the Palm Beach Post, the developer said the 23-story beach front tower looked less promising.

"We won't go forward unless we see a robust market," Trump said. "We'll make a decision over the next month or so. We could delay it a little while. ... I don't like going against the market."

Where does that change of plans leave Tampa's own Trump project? The 52-story luxury tower at 111 S Ashley Drive has yet to go vertical after 2 1/2 years and several buyers have sued for refunds on units priced from about $700,000.

Trump's local development partner, SimDag LLC, is seeking last-ditch financing from a New York hedge fund. To get an estimated $200-million loan for the project, SimDag is trying to persuade buyers to extend their contracts another two years.

SimDag hopes to secure financing by the end of the year and finish the tower by December 2010. Trump is licensing his name to the Tampa project in exchange for half the profits on the condos.

Trump isn't retreating from South Florida entirely. Work continues on a condo-hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Trump International Hotel and Tower, andtowers on Sunny Isles Beach near Miami.

[Last modified October 29, 2007, 23:27:08]