A planned Trump Tower on Australia's Gold Coast has been abandoned, with developer Altus Property Group and the Trump Organization trading accusations over the failed deal. The $1.5bn project, announced in February with much fanfare, has unravelled in less than three months.
Altus director David Young took to LinkedIn to declare the Trump brand 'toxic to Australians' due to the US war in Iran, stating it was 'grossly unfair' on a brand with 'nothing to do with the President'. He insisted there was 'no acrimony' between himself and the Trump family, describing the split as 'pure business'.
The Trump Organization countered that Altus had failed to meet 'the most basic financial obligation due upon the execution of the agreement'. A statement accused Young of using 'empty promise, after empty promise' and dismissed his blame of world events as 'a ploy to distract from his own defaults and failures'.
Young, who has filed for bankruptcy twice previously, denied defaulting, saying his team 'knew it was time to part company' given the geopolitical climate. Despite the collapse, both parties claim to be pursuing separate tower plans in Australia.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, who had previously praised the proposal, noted that no development application had been submitted to the council. 'This project was an agreement between two private parties,' he said in a brief statement.
