Trump’s sorted business dealings have come to a head in Toronto, Canada. Following a decade of upheaval surrounding a 65-story Trump skyscraper housing a hotel and condos, the Trump name is officially being removed.
Mother Jones reports on the “construction setbacks, strange financing, angry investors, and empty hotel rooms” that caused the public breakdown of Trump’s Toronto scheme. Located in Toronto’s business district, the tower has also recently attracted protests of Trump’s comments against Mexicans and Muslims, although his company no longer holds stake in the property.
According to Bloomberg, “JCF Capital is seeking a court-supervised sales process for the property to recoup the outstanding C$301 million ($225 million) on the debt, according to court filings made Tuesday under Canada’s bankruptcy and insolvency act.”
The tower was originally financed using a common realty scheme that involves soliciting international investors to purchase units and have them managed by Trump’s company. The investors put up capital for construction, and are given profits later when the unit is leased out.
Construction, however, was repeatedly delayed following lawsuits from investors claiming that Trump had deceived them about his role in the project. The situation is hauntingly similar to what happened with Trump Soho when investors sued, claiming to have been “misled by [Trump’s] promotional material and sales teams.”
Recently opened @TrumpToronto– it’s beautiful and here is a video of the ribbon cutting ceremony.. http://t.co/VO8U2GPI
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2012
After years of construction setbacks and falling into loan default in 2007, Trump finally unveiled Trump International Hotel in 2012 as his first branded hotel in Canada. Although he had never had ownership interest in the building, Trump professed during the ribbon-cutting ceremony, “About eight years ago I began this voyage, and it turned out to be a beautiful voyage, because the end result is this spectacular building.”
The firm that acquired the tower, JCF Capital ULC, paid an estimated at $6 million in a buyout deal to release the contract for the tower and eliminate Trump management. Formerly called the “Trump International Hotel and Tower,” the building has now been picked up by InnVest Hotels and will be rebranded as the “St. Regis Tower.”
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