A proposed Trump Tower on Australia's Gold Coast, which would have become the country's tallest building, has been scrapped after less than three months. The $1.5bn project was announced in February with a handshake between Altus Property Group's David Young and Eric Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Altus now claims the Trump brand has become 'toxic' due to the US war in Iran, while the Trump Organization says Altus failed to meet basic financial obligations. Young posted on LinkedIn that the brand was 'grossly unfair' to blame, but his team 'knew it was time to part company'.
The Trump Organization responded that Altus had provided 'empty promise, after empty promise' and was unable to pay the required sum upon execution of the agreement. Young denied defaulting, citing world events as the reason for the split.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, who had praised the project, said no application had been submitted to the council. Altus's website still listed the Trump Tower as a development, but construction was due to start in August.
