Trump Tower Tampa Penthouse Buyer: Where's My $1.2 Million?

The buyer of a $6.15 million Trump Tower Tampa penthouse, slated to be an 8,000-square-foot masterpiece, says the $1.2 million he had in escrow can't be found and now he's ready for a fight.

"This was going to be the place among places," said Alan Bridges, CEO of GotRack.com warehouse supply superstores in Tampa and Orlando.

Bridges has been reluctant to go public with details about his experience as an upper-echelon buyer in the now-failed Trump Tower Tampa project -- until now. When news hit this week that Donald Trump himself was suing Tampa developer SimDag in federal court and looking to pull his name from the project, Bridges got the green light from his lawyers to speak his mind.

The whole project was never handled at a level of which Trump's name should be on it, Bridges said.

"This was Trump Tower. Now, with him wanting to take his name off it, it has added fuel to the fire," he said. "My intent is to pursue SimDag and Toni Everett and Donald Trump for fraud, up to and including criminal charges if applicable."

Everett, a Tampa luxury real estate agent and the project's exclusive broker, wasn't available for comment late Thursday. A return call was pending. Everett still has the Trump project as active and listed on her Web site with prices starting at $1 million.

But where Bridges' escrow money is, nobody knows, he said. His repeated attempts to reach SimDag principals have been fruitless.

"We've had countless meetings scheduled and countless meetings cancelled," Bridges said. "There's been no intent on building the project for 10 months so how is it that we can't get our money back?" he said. "We sought e-mail demanding proof of escrow and a disposition of the escrow funds and got nothing."

Listed telephone numbers for Frank Dagostino and SimDag are no longer in operation. A call was also pending return from a local PR representative who has been a spokesman for the developer.

When Bridges opted to put the penthouse under contract in 2005, he was required to put down a guaranteed 20 percent in a deposit in the form of cash and an irrevocable letter of credit, he said.

THE GULF COAST'S MOST COVETED ADDRESS

Commanding the skyline where the river meets the bay in downtown Tampa, this 52-story luxury condominium captures the richness of life at its most privileged. Every residence offers spectacular water, city and sunset views. Every wish has been anticipated in the exceptional amenities and gracious service, and every detail reflects the celebrated standards that only a Donald J. Trump Signature Property can meet.

March 09.07, Latest Tampa Bay News, Trump Tower Tampa Press Release : "TAMPA -- Cutting costs is something The Related Group of Florida is known to do in construction projects it takes over. And while the $309 million price tag on Trump Tower Tampa is a steep one, new project executive Eric Fordin says the project could come in well below those numbers without having to redesign or cut back on units.

"There are a lot of buyers out there who are anxiously awaiting construction of this," said Fordin, who is working on his first Trump-related project despite Related's history in building other Trump projects in Florida.

"We're still in the preliminary stages. We're still inking out the partnership agreement and doing our due diligence," Fordin said. "Plans are to go back out to bid with our preferred subcontractors, and to talk to our buyer base. We're not just going to go in there with guns ablaze. We're going to do the right thing."

"Obstacles trump project-- Related, which will act as Trump Tower Tampa's managing partner from Miami in association with Orlando-based Mirabilis Ventures, is already building three towers with Trump's name in Sunny Isles north of Miami as well as a fourth one in Hollywood. Coming into the project, they have all but moved out original developer SimDag LLC, which had stayed on as a partner after Mirabilis' takeover of the project last November.

"Cost overruns won't be the only obstacles Related faces. Soil issues at the site, unpaid contractors and a general perception from the community that the 52-story luxury condominium tower will never be built also stand in the way of making the tower a success.

"Public opinion, however, has a way of swaying when promises are fulfilled, and Related has an opportunity to do that, said Paul Ayres, director of marketing and business development for the Tampa Downtown Partnership.

""It will wash away," he said. "People will be excited to watch it go up." End

These young developers have a history which doesn't look bad on the surface.....link

SNIP

Donald Trump is pulling out all the stops to hype his new condo project, Trump Tower Tampa -- as if the building's 52 stories, $6-million-per-unit price tags and inevitable gold-plated bathroom fixtures weren't enough.

Word is, Trump is sending Kelly Perdew -- the 37-year-old California software exec plucked from relative obscurity to win The Apprentice 2 -- to promote the uber-luxury complex planned for downtown Tampa.

Tue Feb 15,10:12 AM ET Top Stories - USATODAY.com By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY

Within an hour of learning that billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump had signed on to build a luxury high-rise downtown, Stephen Page was ready to buy in.

Page and his wife, Linda, paid "close to $1 million" for a 34th-floor, two-bedroom condominium in Trump Tower Tampa, a 52-story, $220 million edifice to elegance that will be the tallest residential building on Florida's Gulf Coast when it opens in 2007.

SNIP

TAMPA - Toni Everett, real estate agent to the rich, talks fast, walks fast and whips a laser pointer through a sales presentation like a gunslinger at high noon.

For the past three decades, the south Tampa native has made a name selling multimillion-dollar homes and condos. Buzzing down Bayshore Boulevard in her gold Mercedes, she passes her work history writ large: about a dozen high-rises that she had a hand in bringing to full occupancy - and continues to resell.

With a portfolio ranging from the Pinnacle in 1975, which she bluntly describes as having "awful floor plans," to the Alagon, now under construction and nearly sold out, Everett ranks among a handful of local agents able to sell luxury condos at record prices and record pace when they are nothing more than architects' models and thin air.

Now that she has the exclusive on the hottest property in town, Trump Tower Tampa, Everett's pace has gone from frenzied to dead-run.

On Jan.10, the Monday after plans for the 52-story project at 111 S Ashley Drive became public, people were standing in line at Everett's office, handing over $100,000 certified checks just to hold a unit. Everett and two salespeople scrambled to take reservations while another staffer tracked deals on a master spreadsheet, ensuring the same unit wasn't reserved by multiple clients. Meanwhile, phone messages and e-mails from interested buyers piled up.

A month later, Everett and agents at the Toni Everett Co. on the north end of Bayshore Boulevard still were wading through the backlog of messages, returning calls, setting up appointments. The best they could do in most cases was put people on a waiting list: All but four penthouses in the 190-unit project have been reserved with 10 percent refundable deposits. (Just taken: a $6-million, two-floor unit with spa.)

SNIP

...when Everett first heard of the project planned for the dirt lot along the Hillsborough River. She interviewed with SimDag/RoBEL LLC, the local developers who brought Trump into the deal. Though she's used to sitting down with developers who are looking for an agent to market and sell their high-priced dreams, Everett said this meeting was different.

"There were about 10 people in the room, asking me questions," she said, showing only a hint of lingering discomfort. "But they were asking about the market and competitive information, and I can spout that stuff out really fast."

In June she got the assignment, agreeing to keep mum about Trump's involvement. Dr. Howard Howell, one of SimDag/RoBEL's five managing partners, said Everett was one of a handful of real estate agents considered.

"She's familiar with the market and has demonstrated a track record," he said. "Plus she had the ability and client base to sell these units."

Everett, whose business is based on discretion, declined to discuss the nature of her contract with the developers. But she said condo presales generally have lower commission rates than the 6 percent traditionally received from residential sales.

"There's less commission per unit, because you're doing it in bulk," Everett said. "And you put out a lot of upfront time and expenses because you don't get paid until the project is built. But I do development sites because I enjoy it. It's fun."

SNIP

With Trump, Everett has been involved in everything from helping develop the marketing strategy, critiquing the condo documents and reviewing the floor plans, to designing and staffing the sales center that will open next week on the fifth floor of the office building abutting the site . She also has been closely involved with planning for the invitation-only launch party there on Friday, where Donald Trump will be schmoozing with potential buyers.

Everett has about 35 site agents assigned to her assorted developments - in addition to Trump, she's handling the Plaza on Harbour Island (with Tampa's Smith & Associates), the O2 condos in Channelside, Hyde Park Walk in Tampa and Porto Bellagio in South Florida. Another 35 general agents handle residential and condo resales through her office.

Everett's sister, Patty Clark, handles office operations. Her daughter, Henderson Everett Lee, an agent, is working with her mom on the Trump project. Son Anthony Everett, who is vice president of the Toni Everett Co. as well as developer for Atlanta's Post Properties in Florida, is handling the apartment-to-condo conversion at Hyde Park Walk.

Everett, meanwhile, acts as a slightly scattered ringmaster, flitting from one sales office to the next, blowing into the office for appointments, keeping all the balls in the air.

"I like making sure sales happen," said Everett, who repeatedly ranks among the area's top real estate agents in sales. "The variety of people you're dealing with makes the job interesting."

It is Interesting... http://farmerofthoughts.blogspot.com/ has kept a good log.

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