Trump Tower now one of NYC’s ‘least-desirable’

TRUMP Tower, once the crown jewel in United States President Donald Trump’s property empire, now ranks as one of the least-desirable luxury properties in Manhattan. The 36-year-old building has been turned into a fortress since Trump won the presidency, ringed with concrete barriers and the two main entrances partially blocked off. It hasn’t been substantially updated in years. And Trump’s name has been a huge turnoff in liberal New York City (NYC).

For anyone who owns a unit in the tower, the past two years have been brutal. Most condo sales have led to a loss after adjusting for inflation, property records show. Several sold at more than a 20 per cent loss. By contrast, across Manhattan, just 0.23 per cent of homes over the past two years sold at a loss, according to real-estate data provider PropertyShark, although the firm doesn’t adjust for inflation.

It’s all a far cry from the days when the New York landmark attracted the likes of Michael Jackson, Johnny Carson and Steven Spielberg. These days, it’s better known for a Trump campaign meeting with a Russian lawyer documented in Robert Mueller’s Russia report.

While some corners of Trump’s business empire have thrived, such as his Washington D.C. hotel, others have suffered from his high unpopularity. Rounds of golf are down at his public course in New York, a clutch of once Trump-branded buildings have torn his name off their fronts, and an ambitious plan to launch a new mid-tier hotel chain across the country fizzled.

Trump made his financial disclosures last week that provide an updated snapshot of his net worth.

The documents won’t go into detail about the Trump Organisation’s revenues, but it’s clear that Trump Tower is suffering, based on securities filings, property records, real estate listings, and interviews with industry insiders.

The commercial portion of the building has been struggling for months to find tenants for more than 42,000 sq ft of vacant office space, despite advertising rents well below the area’s average, listings and data from real estate brokers show.

On any given mid-week afternoon, the number of government and Trump Organisation security personnel rivalled the number of other people inside the building’s atrium.