60-FOOT WATERFALL
While some corners of United States president Donald Trump’s business empire have thrived, such as his Washington D.C. hotel, others have suffered from his high unpopularity.
“It’s totally a tourist trap,” said Barbara Res, a former Trump Organization executive who oversaw the building’s construction.
Res remembers the building fondly, and said when it was built Trump recruited celebrities to purchase its condos and prominent brands to fill its retail space. “It’s dated but it’s a building worthy of respect.”.
Located just two blocks from Central Park, Trump built his namesake tower in 1983, complete with a 60-foot waterfall and mounds of pink Italian marble.
Advertised as having 68 storeys — it’s actually 58, city records show — the building was ahead of its time, Trump’s lawyer, George Ross, wrote in his 2005 book, Trump Strategies for Real Estate. “He single-handedly created the market for high-end luxury residences in New York City,” he said.
The Apprentice, Trump’s reality show on NBC, was filmed in Trump Tower. Its launch in 2004 gave the building a new prominence and helped Trump revive his personal and corporate brands. In 2013 Trump pegged the value of his brand at US$4 billion, according to unaudited statements of financial condition provided by his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.
By most measures, Trump Tower should be doing well these days. It’s in a part of Manhattan known as the Plaza District, named after the Plaza Hotel right off Central Park, that many real estate experts consider to be the nation’s premier office area. Offices with views of Central Park easily fetch more than US$100 per sq ft, said Craig Leibowitz, New York research director for JLL.
The office portion of Trump Tower is advertising five vacancies spread across five floors. In January, prices for the open space ranged from US$72 to US$85 per sq ft annually. A month earlier, the Trump Organisation posted to its YouTube channel a glossy marketing video that referred to the tower as “one of New York’s most iconic trophy buildings”.
Now the prices are listed as negotiable. A commercial real estate broker said that his firm’s surveys show that prospective tenants won’t consider a Trump building until he’s out of office.
One of the building’s other problems is that Trump hasn’t spent much money updating the tower in recent years, according to disclosures to investors.
“I don’t think I would want an office in Trump Tower,” said Res. “Why would you go there? It’s a wonder he doesn’t have 50 per cent vacancy.”