spaced
Active Member
Video over at thestar.com:
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/266441
Trump set for towering debut
After false starts and design changes, property mogul's luxury condo-hotel project is finally slated to begin
Oct 13, 2007 04:30 AM
Tony Wong
Business Reporter
Donald Trump, it seems, can't stop himself from making money. At least in Canada.
When he first invested in the Trump International Hotel & Tower in 2001, the Canadian dollar was near a historic low of 63 cents to the U.S. dollar. Yesterday, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the project at Bay and Adelaide Sts., the loonie closed at $1.0276, near a historic high, making his investment a lot sweeter.
"People are saying, `Great play,' but I actually didn't mean to invest because of the dollar. I just ended up being a genius for all the wrong reasons," Trump said in an interview in the great room of the private National Club, which sits beside his proposed 57-storey building in Toronto's financial district. The Donald's $2.9 billion net worth, according to Forbes Magazine, is in U.S. dollars, so he finds himself with greatly diminished buying power outside his own country. But his international investments, including in Scotland, where he is building a golf course, and Canada have helped to hedge his bets.
When the Toronto edifice is completed in 2010, it is expected to be one of the tallest residential buildings in the city, with 118 homes and 261 hotel rooms.
This is the first time the Trump brand has been available in Canada, although you can find Trump steaks, Trump Vodka and Trump Casinos elsewhere.
Yesterday, the New York developer sported a white cotton shirt and light blue silk tie, from his Trump clothing collection, that he was quick to point out are "the best-selling shirt and tie at Macy's."
The groundbreaking ceremony, complete with gold-plated Trump-style shovels, even featured Trump dirt. Or at least dirt with big letters reading TRUMP.
The Donald and fellow billionaire Alex Shnaider put the first symbolic shovels in the ground.
"This is a good moment, because we are building a landmark that will be on postcards, so it does give us a lot of satisfaction," Shnaider said in an interview.
Trump is the 314th-richest billionaire, according to Forbes. Shnaider is only 557th, with his $1.8 billion, but he is Canada's youngest billionaire.
Shnaider, 39, is expected to take possession of the penthouse, which is valued at $20 million (Canadian), making it the most expensive condominium in the country.
This is a project that many in the real estate community thought would never happen – and some still harbour doubts, despite the public groundbreaking.
In a market mad for luxury condos, the Trump project certainly has taken longer than expected. It was first announced three years ago. Competitor Ritz Carlton has taken only 14 months to break ground.
"We wanted to do it right," Trump said yesterday.
He said units worth $300 million and representing 70 per cent of the building are pre-sold.
Construction starts next week.
Is he worried that too many luxury hotels are competing in the Toronto market, with a Ritz Carlton, Shangri-La and Four Seasons about to be built?
Toronto "should easily support the activity," Trump said.
"We were one of the first, and they saw us coming, so all these other great brands have started going forward with their own projects."
Meanwhile, Trump said he's definitely not happy with a proposal by Toronto Mayor David Miller to double the land transfer tax as one way to help the city out of a fiscal crunch.
Council votes on the proposal this month.
"This is a big negative," Trump said.
"People won't come in and invest. The less tax you have, the better it is for people like us coming in to invest in the city. It's a very negative tax for Toronto that will stop business."
This is a busy time for Trump. In two weeks, he begins shooting the seventh season of his popular TV show The Apprentice, this time using celebrities.
"We're just casting now. We have some really incredible celebrities up for it."
Would he consider using Canadian celebrities, such as Celine Dion or Wayne Gretzky?
"I love them both. They're good friends of mine, but I don't know if they'd want to do it."
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/266441
Trump set for towering debut
After false starts and design changes, property mogul's luxury condo-hotel project is finally slated to begin
Oct 13, 2007 04:30 AM
Tony Wong
Business Reporter
Donald Trump, it seems, can't stop himself from making money. At least in Canada.
When he first invested in the Trump International Hotel & Tower in 2001, the Canadian dollar was near a historic low of 63 cents to the U.S. dollar. Yesterday, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the project at Bay and Adelaide Sts., the loonie closed at $1.0276, near a historic high, making his investment a lot sweeter.
"People are saying, `Great play,' but I actually didn't mean to invest because of the dollar. I just ended up being a genius for all the wrong reasons," Trump said in an interview in the great room of the private National Club, which sits beside his proposed 57-storey building in Toronto's financial district. The Donald's $2.9 billion net worth, according to Forbes Magazine, is in U.S. dollars, so he finds himself with greatly diminished buying power outside his own country. But his international investments, including in Scotland, where he is building a golf course, and Canada have helped to hedge his bets.
When the Toronto edifice is completed in 2010, it is expected to be one of the tallest residential buildings in the city, with 118 homes and 261 hotel rooms.
This is the first time the Trump brand has been available in Canada, although you can find Trump steaks, Trump Vodka and Trump Casinos elsewhere.
Yesterday, the New York developer sported a white cotton shirt and light blue silk tie, from his Trump clothing collection, that he was quick to point out are "the best-selling shirt and tie at Macy's."
The groundbreaking ceremony, complete with gold-plated Trump-style shovels, even featured Trump dirt. Or at least dirt with big letters reading TRUMP.
The Donald and fellow billionaire Alex Shnaider put the first symbolic shovels in the ground.
"This is a good moment, because we are building a landmark that will be on postcards, so it does give us a lot of satisfaction," Shnaider said in an interview.
Trump is the 314th-richest billionaire, according to Forbes. Shnaider is only 557th, with his $1.8 billion, but he is Canada's youngest billionaire.
Shnaider, 39, is expected to take possession of the penthouse, which is valued at $20 million (Canadian), making it the most expensive condominium in the country.
This is a project that many in the real estate community thought would never happen – and some still harbour doubts, despite the public groundbreaking.
In a market mad for luxury condos, the Trump project certainly has taken longer than expected. It was first announced three years ago. Competitor Ritz Carlton has taken only 14 months to break ground.
"We wanted to do it right," Trump said yesterday.
He said units worth $300 million and representing 70 per cent of the building are pre-sold.
Construction starts next week.
Is he worried that too many luxury hotels are competing in the Toronto market, with a Ritz Carlton, Shangri-La and Four Seasons about to be built?
Toronto "should easily support the activity," Trump said.
"We were one of the first, and they saw us coming, so all these other great brands have started going forward with their own projects."
Meanwhile, Trump said he's definitely not happy with a proposal by Toronto Mayor David Miller to double the land transfer tax as one way to help the city out of a fiscal crunch.
Council votes on the proposal this month.
"This is a big negative," Trump said.
"People won't come in and invest. The less tax you have, the better it is for people like us coming in to invest in the city. It's a very negative tax for Toronto that will stop business."
This is a busy time for Trump. In two weeks, he begins shooting the seventh season of his popular TV show The Apprentice, this time using celebrities.
"We're just casting now. We have some really incredible celebrities up for it."
Would he consider using Canadian celebrities, such as Celine Dion or Wayne Gretzky?
"I love them both. They're good friends of mine, but I don't know if they'd want to do it."
