Donald Trump leaves his name off a luxe condo complex he’s building in the Miami market
Doral, Florida, officials gave preliminary approval Wednesday for the Trump Organization’s long-planned complex near Trump National Doral Resort.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/doral/article291073960.html
Excerpt:
Donald Trump plans to bring luxury condominiums to a Miami suburb, but they’re missing one notable selling point: Trump’s name.
The former president’s latest South Florida real estate play moved closer to reality on Wednesday evening when the Doral City Council gave preliminary approval for the residential and commercial complex he wants to build on the edge of the Trump National Doral Miami.
That’s the golf resort that has carried his name since he purchased the former Marriott out of bankruptcy in 2012, adding one of Miami-Dade County’s largest hotels into a portfolio of Trump-branded properties that helped make him the world’s most famous developer even before he won the White House.
So far, the 1,429-unit condo complex the Trump Organization wants to build above 141,000-square-feet of retail on the resort’s southeastern corner has what may be the most generic name in Trump’s holdings: Doral International Towers.
Ed Russo, Trump’s longtime representative in Miami-Dade, said Doral International Towers is a working title but that he doesn’t know if the complex would ultimately bear the former president’s name.
“I’m not so sure about that,” he said. “I think he likes the Doral name.”
Trump’s top local lobbyist downplayed the project’s Trump-less name ahead of the City Council’s 3-2 vote to advance the development proposal.
“It’s just the name used in the architectural plans,” said Felix Lasarte.
Voting against the Trump project were Christi Fraga, Doral’s mayor, and council member Rafael Pinyero. None of the five commissioners elaborated on their thinking during the meeting. A final vote is expected next month.
On Thursday morning, Fraga cited traffic and over-development of residential units in Doral for her no vote. “I value and appreciate President Trump’s business investment and presence in our city,” she said in a text message, “but my duty above all is to Doral’s residents.”