Donald Trump

Trump Bids on Patricia Kluge's Virginia Estate

Filed under: Estates, Auctions, Real Estate Developments, Wealth

trump bids on patricia kluge estate The latest wrinkle in Patricia Kluge's dispursal of fortune involves another famed billionaire: Donald Trump. This Wednesday, Trump had two lawyers representing him at the auction of Albemarle House, Kluge's luxe estate on 300 acres in tony Albemarle County, Va.

Shortly before the auction began, Steve Blaine and Les Goldman announced to the crowd of approximately 60 gathered in front of the Albemarle County Courthouse that they represented Donald Trump. What others might not have realized is that Trump had already purchased the adjacent 200 acres which, because of conditions outlined when Kluge gained the property in her divorce, would grant him right of first refusal on Albemare House.

"I think Mr. Trump wanted others to be aware that he was a bidder and he controlled the front yard of the house," said Baine, a Charlottesville, Va. lawyer. "He's a savvy business person but I think any other person with a serious interest in the house would have tried to figure out how to secure those 200 acres first."

Gallery: Patricia Kluge's Albemarle House

Tags: albemarle county, albemarle house, Charlottesville, Donald Trump, Luxury Real Estate, Patricia Kluge, Patricia Kluge Broke, virginia real estate

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Trump Hollywood Project Foreclosed

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

It's time for me to eat my words. Back in March I referred to the Trump Hollywood project in Hollywood, Florida as the "only Trump project thriving in South Florida." I was wrong on two counts: the first being that it was yet another Trump-licensed project rather than a direct Donald Trump build and the second, on the building's overall health. Bloomberg reports this week that lenders foreclosed on Trump Hollywood ending a protracted restructuring battle by developer Jorge Perez's Related Group of Florida.

The project opened in 2009 and the 41-story tower includes 200 condos at current prices from $900,000 to $7 million. The $225 million mortgage on the project was part of $2 billion in troubled loans at Related Group as of early last year.

According to the Bloomberg article, sales have closed on just 25 units. Given what we've seen on other similar projects, I'm predicting we'll see a condo auction to raise interest and quick cash on units not already spoken for by buyers. Trump is facing lawsuits on other licensed projects including his failed Baja Mexico project and the Fort Lauderdale project that until recently bore his name, it's not clear if Trump Hollywood has any disgruntled buyers yet.

Tags: donald trump, florida real estate, florida real estate development, hollywood florida, trump hollywood

Trump Pulls His Name Off Fort Lauderdale Project

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Earlier this year we mentioned another Donald Trump-affiliated project facing trouble, now Trump has taken his name off what was to be the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The 298-unit project has already been hit with lawsuits from buyers seeking refunds and faces foreclosure.

The Sun Sentinel quotes Trump as saying that he's not involved with the foreclosure, he added: "we have nothing to do with the building. We had a licensing deal, and we terminated the licensing deal a long time ago." The timing on this is a bit odd. As the Sun Sentinel points out, this statement is coming nearly eight months after all the trouble began back in March and the new loan holder filed to foreclose on the $200 million project.

Over 100 people have put down deposits to buy condos in the building, reserving studios and one- and two-bedroom units priced from about $500,000 to more than $3 million each. Many of those buyers now want their money back and some claim that the developers misrepresented or overstated Trump's involvement with the project. This isn't the first time we've seen this type of claim involving a Trump-licensed real estate project gone sour. He's fighting a similar claim in regards to a failed project in Baja Mexico.

it may take a while to resolve this one. The local courts are clogged with foreclosures and this case's complicated financial dealings-- a series of developers, lenders and a host of far-flung buyers-- also make this one a tough one to sort out.The current loan-holder group is Corus Construction Venture, led by Starwood Capital. It filed for foreclosure March 11 against the developers, SB Hotel Associates. Lawyers for condo buyers are trying to make sure that their clients receive their deposit money owed because those buyers advanced money to the developers before they could borrow from a bank, and that the bank relied on those deposits to make the construction loan.

Tags: donald trump, florida real estate, fort lauderdale, trump real estate

Donald Trump Lists California Home

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

When Housing Watch broke the news that Donald Trump has listed his home in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, I knew we had to go check it out. Trump, who has a habit of creating drama where ever he goes, had years of "tumultuous relations" with the locals. Trump, a man accustomed to always getting his own way, ran up against the community rules over a variety of issues. He even sued the town for $100 million because they wouldn't let him have his own way.

The home he is selling is his personal residence where he stayed while in Los Angeles and is located at the 18-hole Trump National Golf Course and has both golf course and ocean views The 11,000-square-foot five-bedroom luxurious yet bland Mediterranean has marble floors is built in a U-shaped design around a courtyard with an infinity pool facing the ocean. The gourmet kitchen has Miele appliances, Wolf range, a Sub Zero refrigerator and a copper hood over the range. The master suite offers a walk-in closet, large bathroom, private patio and fire pit. The home has several fireplaces including one in the library. The game room has a full sized bar that matches the one at Trump National Golf Course. A glass wine room showcases your collection. It's posh but practically understated considered Trump's usual taste for gilded, over-the-top decor.

Housing Watch reports that Trump paid $27 million in the late 1990s for the 300-acre land site and constructed the golf course and adjacent properties. A pretty sharp deal. Homes on the course sell for over $5 million. Trump's personal home is listed for $12 million with Linda D'Ambrosi and Sandra Callen of Keller Williams, Rancho Palos Verdes. The property website is here.

Gallery: Donald Trump in Rancho Palos Verdes

Tags: california real estate, celebrity real estate, donald trump, los angeles real estate, rancho palos verdes, trump national golf course

World's Seventh Largest Yacht Could Be Seized in Sex Sting

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Wealth, Crimes and Misdemeanors

Turkish officials are moving to seize the 446-ft. Savarona (above), the world's seventh largest yacht, in the wake of the dramatic prostitution raid on the ship off the Turkish coast which we first reported on Friday. Authorities charged that the megayacht, which is owned by the Republic of Turkey, was being run as a floating brothel by the unnamed businessman who had been renting it for $40,000 per day. Clients paid $3,000 to $10,000 per night to have sex with one or more Russian and Ukrainian fashion models, some of whom were underage and are being deported, according to reports.

A sometime business associate of Donald Trump, real estate mogul Tevfik Arif, was among those taken into custody when armed police arrived in helicopters to find an orgy in full swing. Built by Blohm + Voss in 1931 for an American heiress, the lavishly refurbished yacht features accommodations for 34 guests with 260 tons of polished marble, a swimming pool, turkish bath, 282-foot gold-trimmed grand staircase, movie theater, library and helipad. Celebrities who have stayed aboard her include Prince Charles, the Sultan of Brunei, Nicole Kidman, Sharon Stone, Hugh Grant and Tom Cruise, though so far there is no evidence any of them did so while the brothel was in operation.

UPDATE at 6:00pm ET on May 16, 2012: Tevfik Arif was acquitted of all charges in April 2011, according to The Guardian.

Gallery: The Superyacht 'Savarona'

Tags: Blohm + Voss, crime, Donald Trump, megayacht, Savarona, sex, superyacht, Tevfik Arif, Turkey, wealth, yacht

World's Seventh Largest Yacht Raided in Prostitution Bust, Trump Associate Arrested

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Wealth, Crimes and Misdemeanors

The incredible 446-ft. Savarona (above), the seventh largest yacht in the world, was the site of a dramatic helicopter raid by police off the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey the other day. New York-based property developer Tevfik Arif, a sometime business partner of Donald Trump, is being questioned by Turkish police as a suspected organizer of an international ring of high-priced prostitutes that operated on the yacht, Bloomberg reports. Built by Blohm + Voss in 1931 for an American heiress, the superyacht is owned by the Republic of Turkey and was available for charter at $50,000 per day. The lavishly refurbished yacht features accommodations for 34 guests with 260 tons of polished marble, a swimming pool, turkish bath, 282-foot gold-trimmed grand staircase, movie theater, library and helipad. Celebrities who have stayed aboard her include Prince Charles, the Sultan of Brunei, Nicole Kidman, Sharon Stone, Hugh Grant and Tom Cruise.

In addition to Arif, businessmen from Russia and high-level government officials were taken into custody aboard the Savarona by Turkish military police following a seven-month investigation into an international prostitution ring, Bloomberg reports. The men paid $3,000 to $10,000 per night to have sex at sea with Russian and Ukrainian fashion models, some of whom were underage. 10 Russian and Ukrainian women suspected of prostitution were also detained in the operation. When police arrived at the yacht around midday they found everyone in bed. Arif's lawyer Engin Agyuzlu stated that his client is the victim of a "smear campaign" and will "vigorously defend himself in any court of law." Arif is chairman of Bayrock Group LLC, a property group that partnered with the Trump Organization to build the SoHo Hotel Condominium and a Trump Tower in Florida.

UPDATE at 6:00pm ET on May 16, 2012: Tevfik Arif was acquitted of all charges in April 2011, according to The Guardian.

Gallery: The Superyacht 'Savarona'

Source

Tags: Blohm + Voss, crime, Donald Trump, Mediterranean, models, New York, prostitution, real estate, Russia, Savarona, sex, superyacht, Tevfik Arif, Turkey, wealth, yacht

Donald Trump Creates Trump Sheets To Cover Trump Beds

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

What do you put on your Trump bed? Trump sheets, of course. Continuing his mission to brand anything possible, Donald Trump's Trump Home and Hallmart Collectibles plan to introduce Trump Home fashion bedding. Home Accents Today reports that the collection will add sheets, duvets, shams and bedding accessories to the Trump Home collection. The styles were inspired by Trump and his global collection of hotels and other properties. The pieces will have high thread counts, rich embroidery and bold patterns. The bedding will debut to the trade in October and will then be sold at department, furniture and specialty bedding retailers throughout the United States and Canada. Pieces will be sold as a seven-piece comforter set, ranging in retail price from $299 to $349 as well as bedding sets available in coordinating shades. The comforter sets will feature an alternative down duvet filler, a 300-thread count three-piece duvet set, a 300-thread count four-piece embroidered sheet set and a coordinating decorative pillow bearing the Trump signature crest.

Tags: donald trump, trump bedding, trump beds, trump home, trump sheets

Trump Launches Trump Tea

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Celebrity Design

Just when I think Donald Trump has run out of things to lend his name to something new comes along. The Trump Organization and Talbott Teas have launched Trump Tea, a premium line of teas bearing the Trump logo. There are four whole leaf tea blends created by Talbott Teas' master blender Shane Talbott and named for some of Trump's favorite places.

The Park Avenue blend combines orange and raspberry teas with white tea leaves to create a naturally sweet tea with a silky texture that is rich in antioxidants. The Union Square blend is whole-leaf estate Assam black tea with hints of bourbon vanilla bean and cocoa. The Mar-A-Lago blend is Sencha green tea and the Westchester blend is rosehips, hibiscus, elderberry and antioxidant-rich organic blueberries.

Each blend is packaged in a keepsake tin with pyramid sachets of all natural whole leaf tea and organic ingredients. The Trump Tea collection will be available at select retailers beginning Fall 2010. The tea costs $12.95 per tin.

Tags: donald trump, trump, trump tea

Bar d'Eau Opens At Trump SoHo

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Just in time for the end of summer Trump SoHo New York has opened Bar d'Eau. The bar was created by KNR, the team behind South Beach's hottest nightspots and is located on the seventh-floor of the luxury SoHo hotel condominium, at 246 Spring Street. Bar d'Eau has an outdoor landscaped 6,000-square-foot Pool Deck with a blue Italian mosaic-lined lounge pool with a cascading waterfall as well as three private cabanas and a bocce court.

Designed by DiGuiseppe Architect, Bar d'Eau opens into the hotel's pool area seasonally with large, clear doors. Two layers of sparkling sheer fabric cover the west facing windows and doors to soften the light by day and provide a warm glow at night. The walls are sheathed in a metallic wallcovering with fractured mirror tile and antique framed textiles from Anatolia. The bar area has chairs of handmade stitched leather and dark bronze frames.

The bar dishes out intriguing cocktails including a Mehkong Sling with Mehkong, Pineapple Cherry Heering and lime juice; Bourbon Tea with Woodford Reserve infused with a house-made tea blend, fresh lemon and honey and the Canton rhubarb float made with Domaine de Canton, muddled limes and rhubarb bitters. The bar also serves small plates like a lobster roll curry with mache and celery, Black Angus sliders with smoked ketchup and butter pickles, the herb fries with rosemary and sage and the butter and parmigiano popcorn. Cold dishes include the summer berry salad with Moscato vanilla jelly and lemon granite, coconut pannacotta and homemade ice cream and sorbet cones. Bar d'Eau is open 1 am to 11 pm Sunday through Thursday and 11 am to 1 am Friday and Saturday.

Tags: bar deau, donald trump, trump soho, trump soho new york

Donald Trump Faces Lawsuit From Trump SoHo Buyers

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

More trouble for Donald Trump and disgruntled condo buyers. This time the project in question is one of Trump's newest, the recently opened Trump SoHo New York. The NY Times reports that a group of 15 buyers at the Trump SoHo Hotel Condominium project have filed a complaint saying that individuals behind the project inflated sales figures during the early part of the sales process making the project look like it had more sales than it did. Buyers only learned that just 15 percent of the building had been sold after the offering plan become effective in May. In the suit the buyers say that they would not have bought the units if they had been aware of the low sales numbers. The buyers are looking to have their contracts rescinded and deposits returned as well as other damages and fees.

Donald Trump's children Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are also named in the suite along with the Bayrock/Sapir Organization LLC, which is the project's sponsor. A lawyer for the Bayrock/Sapir Organization says that there are more than 100 contracts signed (representing about 25 percent of the building sold) but that the company decided to report only the minimum 15 percent to the attorney general's office.

The Trump SoHo Hotel Condominium is a unique project. The units start at more than $1 million for a studio but buyers can only stay in their units for 120 days a year, and for no more than 29 days in a 36-day period. The rest of the time the units are in use as hotel rooms.

Donald Trump has faced several lawsuits in the past from condo buyers. In several cases Trump lent his name to projects that he was not directly involved in and when buyers became aware of this they filed suit. Trump was also in hot water over the failed Trump Ocean Baja Resort project, a lavish condo planned in Mexico which was never built.

Tags: donald trump, trump soho new york

The Best of London Comes to New York: Chef Michael Hartnell of Le Caprice

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

Chef Michael Hartnell of Le Caprice in New York.

Luxist had the opportunity to talk to rising star chef, Michael Hartnell, Executive Head Chef at Le Caprice, the fashionable Martin Brudnizki-designed restaurant in Manhattan's Pierre Hotel overlooking Central Park. The 28 year old wunderkind is known for his creative and modern European dishes.

Hartnell has worked for the Caprice Holdings Group for the past six years; prior to opening Le Caprice in New York, he was Head Chef at Daphne's in South Kensington, London.

Le Caprice, which opened in October 2009, is the American outpost of the famous London brasserie that shares the same name.

Luxist: Tell us about your background?

I was born in West London and grew up on the outskirts of London. My big opportunity came at the age of 15 when I did my work experience with my brother at The Ivy in London's West End. After finishing school, I completed my apprenticeship there and at other restaurants including Daphne's in South Kensington where I eventually became Head Chef at age 26 and Locande Locatelli, which is a One Star Michelin Italian Restaurant owned by Giorgio Locatelli.

Luxist: How does Le Caprice reflect your personality and vision as a chef?

Le Caprice embodies everything I love about food: its simple, well-produced and well executed. There is something on the menu for everyone's taste and that is a good reflection of myself. I'm not a complicated cook that likes to over elaborate on dishes, but what we do is done with a lot of passion. I aim to produce simple food using the best produce possible in sync with the seasons.

Luxist: Describe the menu offerings at Le Caprice in New York. What are the specialties? How often will the menu change? Describe your seasonal fare.

Chef Hartnell: We have Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Dinner and Bar menus. We have weekly changing specials and we also tweak the a la carte menu on a weekly basis to keep the menu as seasonal as possible. At the moment we are using fantastic fava beans, peas and artichokes. One of my favorite things right now is King Salmon, which we get from Washington State.

Tags: Anna Wintour, awards-main, Chef Hartnell, cocktails, Donald Trump, Glenda Bailey, Le Caprice, luxist-awards, Michael Hartnell, New York, Pierre Hotel, restaurant week, restaurants

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Trump Sues Palm Beach Over Airport Expansion

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Usually I hear about Donald Trump being sued but this time he's going on the offensive in Palm Beach. He has filed a lawsuit suing Palm Beach County over the planned expansion at Palm Beach International Airport. Trump doesn't want the airport to have a second commercial runway and filed suit to block the proposal. Why is Trump against the airport? The flight path would take planes over Trump's Palm Beach Mar-a-Lago estate.

"They are wanting to spend, by the time they finish, over $1 billion to add a runway that's totally unnecessary," Trump told local station WPBF 25 News in a telephone interview. "In order to add the runway, they have to rip down hundreds of millions of dollars in buildings that have just been built where they store the airplanes and offices." Trump says the runway is unnecessary because there is less air traffic and that there is already another runway that could be expanded.

Trump also wants former airport director Bruce Pelly to pay damages caused by jets flying over Trump's home. Trump had previously filed a lawsuit in 1995 saying that noise and exhaust from the jets caused damage to the home. That suit was settled with a deal that had the county agreeing to keep noise levels from rising in the future. As part of the deal, Trump built a luxury golf course on county land that the county agreed to lease to Trump.

Tags: donald trump, Mar-a-Lago, palm

Is Donald Trump Planning A Scottish Whisky?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits

Donald Trump is already in the vodka business but with his plans to develop a golf resort in Scotland, he's thinking of branching out into whisky. Trump is said to be meeting with local distillers to find one to produce a Trump-branded single malt whisky. Trump, who loves putting his name on anything possible, is already investing millions in his resort on the Menie Estate, near Balmedie in Aberdeenshire. There are many local distilleries in the area. Sarah Malone, executive vice-president of Trump International Golf Links, is quoted as saying that 'Trump Whisky' could be sold around the globe by 2012. There are also plans for a variety of other Trump-branded products to be sold at the property. The resort will eventually be home to a club house, hotel and luxury real estate.

Trump vodka features a single angular "T" but the Trump whisky might have a new decoration. According to an article in The Press and Journal, Trump has has applied to the Court of the Lord Lyon so that an official Trump coat of arms can be created.Any person who wishes to use Arms must petition for a Grant of Arms or - if they can trace their ancestry back to an ancestor who had a grant of Arms - a "matriculation" showing their place within the family. If a grant is obtained then a parchment is issued and a duplicate is recorded in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland. The website says that Arms are not generally granted to non-British citizens but those of Scottish ancestry (which Trump is, on his mother's side) can apply to the Lord Lyon King of Arms for cadet matriculations, as described above.

Meanwhile locals continue to protest the development, recently stealing marker flags used to map out the course from the site. The Tripping Up Trump movement also continues to pick up speed, and members were seen protesting Trump's Aberdeenshire development at the British Open.

Tags: aberdeenshire, donald trump, scotland, trump vodka, whisky

The Battle To Trip Up Trump In Scotland Rages On

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Fresh off the Celebrity Apprentice finale billionaire Donald Trump has flown to Scotland for a battle of a different kind. Trump is there to finalize plans to build what he calls the "world's greatest golf course" in Aberdeenshire but he faces continued opposition from local protestors. A group called Tripping Up Trump has formed and bought land belonging to one of the residents, Michael Forbes in an effort to thwart the £1 billion seaside development.

The land, which the group calls The Bunker, is strategically located in the heart of the resort. Trump's proposal includes two 18-hole championship golf courses, a luxury hotel and vacation residences. The group is putting the names of hundreds of protesters on the title deeds, hoping to snarl up Trump and the Aberdeenshire Council in endless paperwork if they decide to issue a compulsory purchase order for the site (a cute animated video explaining the project is after the jump).

Trump and his son Donald Jr. arrived in Aberdeen Airport and spoke with the media but did not indicate if they would be meeting with the protesters. Trump has offered residents a package which includes a promise to purchase their property at 15 percent above current market value, the opportunity to buy a house on the golf complex at cost price and lifetime membership of the golf resort but the residents have not taken him up on this offer. The master plan for the resort will be considered by Aberdeenshire Council later this year.

Tags: aberdeenshire, donald trump, golf, golf resort, scotland

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Sunnier Times For Trump's Sunny Isles Project

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

The last time I checked in with the Trump Towers complex in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida things weren't quite so sunny. A lawsuit had been filed by condo buyers saying that the Trump name had only been used to attract buyers and that buyers were concerned their condos would be worth less without the Trump brand. It was all part of a sudden frantic litigiousness, spurred on by the real estate slump.

But thing seems to be looking up at Sunny Isles Beach, the current developer on the property, Dezer Properties has announced that they had surpassed the $100 million mark in sales since assuming the marketing of all remaining units at the three-tower 813-unit luxury oceanfront condominium development on Collins Avenue. The Dezers assumed a $265 million loan from a development partnership that included the Related Group. The project's three towers have a combined 475 units left to sell and the 181 units sold so far sold range in price from $550,000 to $1.9 million, healthy numbers in this climate.

"We are confident that our adjusted pricing is what has driven beyond-expected results," says Dezer Properties president Gil Dezer. Trump Towers was Trump's second development with the father and son team of Michael and Gil Dezer. The Dezers and Trump also collaborated on Trump Grande in Sunny Isles Beach.

The Trump Towers in Miami have a 24-hour concierge, fitness center, health spa, terrace with a heated swimming pool and more. Units have large balconies, floor-to-ceiling windows and high-end appliances.

Tags: dezer properties, donald trump, trump towers miami