Surfers’ Paradise could become home to Australia’s first Trump Tower, with the family reportedly exploring plans for a major beachfront development.
The proposed site is 3 Trickett Street, where the former Iluka tower once stood, and would see a new “supertower” rise in the heart of the Gold Coast tourist strip.
Gold Coast City council sources told the Courier Mail there was strong interest in any potential project linked to the Trump Organisation, although no formal development application had yet been lodged.
“But we have seen plans with renders. And they have a gold Donald Trump on it. Every Trump hotel has a big gold Donald Trump on it, and this one will be the same,” the source said.
“It’s nothing new in it’s not the first time this property has had Trump interest. It’s the same developer. It’s the Trump Tower.”
The Trump family’s interest in the Gold Coast is not new. Almost 20 years ago, they looked closely at establishing a presence in the region.
In 2008, developers George Raptis and Larry Matthews were close to finalising a deal with Donald Trump to build a 55-storey supertower in Broadbeach, with just under half of the building to operate as a Trump hotel.
That project was ultimately abandoned due to the economic uncertainty of the Global Financial Crisis.
The original Trump Tower opened in 1983 on New York’s Fifth Avenue and has since become one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks. It was also the site where Donald Trump announced his first presidential campaign in 2015.
The Trump Organisation has been reportedly been contacted for comment, but has yet to respond.
Image: Shutterstock
