Located between East 56th and 57th Streets on Fifth Avenue, Trump Tower is a 58-story, 664-foot-tall (202 m) mixed-use skyscraper in New York City’s Midtown Manhattan district and the Trump Organization head quarters.
The skyscraper was designed and is named after the billionaire and ex-president of the United States, Donald Trump, who also lives in the building’s penthouse unit.
The Trump family is well-represented among the building’s residents and/or former residents and the tower occupies a site that was once home to Bonwit Teller’s flagship shop.
Trump Tower was co-developed by Trump and the Equitable Life Assurance Company, its architect was Der Scutt of Poor, Swanke, Hayden & Connell. The tower’s approval came despite its location in a special zoning district in Midtown Manhattan; the district still allowed it to be erected as a mixed-use development.
Trump’s offer to provide retail space and privately owned public space on the ground floor, lower level and two outdoor terraces in exchange for the addition of floors to the skyscraper was accepted.
During construction, there were many scandals, including the theft and destruction of valuable sculptures from the Bonwit Teller store, allegations that Trump underpaid contractors and a lawsuit Trump filed because the skyscraper was not exempt from taxes.
From February until November of 1983, the atrium, apartments, offices and shops gradually opened to the public and even though residential units sold out in a matter of months after launching, commercial and retail tenants were slow to sign leases.
Security concerns increased patrolling of the area around the tower for a number of years following Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent election victory.
What Is The History Of The Trump Tower New York
The history is as fascinating as the building itself which began in 1975, when Donald Trump purchased a small office building at 575 Eighth Avenue for $1.5 million. The project was many things at the time, a start-up real estate business, an investment property and a way to provide affordable housing for local families.
Most importantly however, it was home to Donald and his brother Robert who had long dreamed of opening their own real estate development company and took control of the company from their father in 1969.
The company’s growth spurt soon after was rapid, leading to the construction of more than 40 properties between 1971 and 1977 — including Trump Village in Queens (now known as Flushing Meadows Park) and another project in Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay neighborhood called Bay Ridge Plaza.
Both projects were developed with assistance from their father and were not successful ventures by any means but rather homes for many workers in one of New York City’s most famous boroughs. It wasn’t until 1978 that Donald Trump signed a contract to build his first skyscraper at 560 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan’s SoHo district.
Most Americans weren’t even aware that there was such a place until its name became synonymous with cheap lofts, financial parasites and criminal activity but by that point, SoHo was already well known as “The Garbage Mile of Manhattan.”
The Early Years Of Donald Trumps Property Business
Like many developers, Trump recognized the importance of early construction and started building his portfolio of properties as soon as possible; his goal was to get his name on as many buildings as possible as quickly as possible.
In his early years as an investor, Trump encountered several problems that would plague him throughout his real estate career. For example, he started his career as an investor without the necessary experience and expertise to handle the day-to-day operations of a real estate company.
As a result, he hired managers who, in many cases, were not well-versed in real estate matters at all. Furthermore, the younger Trump didn’t keep careful track of the financials of his properties, or perhaps he was too busy trying to get his name on as many buildings as possible.
As a result, it’s easy to see how a business failure or two could have a significant impact on the success of a real estate project.
In 1975, while still an investor in the family business, Trump signed a contract to build his first skyscraper at 575 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. SoHo was quickly becoming a hot property due to its proximity to New York’s restaurant and nightlife scene, as well as its history as a center of drugs and prostitution. apartment towers in New York.
SoHo was also at the center of the infamous 1975 “Saturday Night Massacre,” when the Manhattan district attorney’s office discovered that the NYPD had demolished eight buildings in the neighborhood in order to make way for a hotel. The DA announced that he would not prosecute the police officers responsible for the illegal demolitions and the case was closed.
The Rise Of SoHo And The Decline Of Trump Village
It would be easy to point to the decline of SoHo and the rise of Trump Village as markers of the early years of the Trump presidency, but it’s important to note that both developments were years in the making. SoHo was planned and developed decades before Trump took office, and the neighborhood’s rise was gradual and incremental.
In fact, the neighborhood’s nickname, “The Garbage Mile of Manhattan,” was actually meant as a compliment; SoHo was seen as an important part of the city’s waste management system. SoHo’s rapid growth was due in part to its proximity to New York’s garbage incinerator and landfill sites, as well as the nearby Port of New York Authority.
By the late 1970s, SoHo was home to more than 100,000 people and its official population was estimated at more than 200,000. In the late 1980s, developer Bruce Ratner was granted permission to build the World Trade Center complex on 60 acres of land adjacent to SoHo.
The Rise Of Downtown New York
In the 1970s and 1980s, George Dubos, a real estate developer and investor, was a large part of the New York real estate scene and was instrumental in building the city’s Downtown business district.
The first phase of the Downtown Empire was completed in 1972 with the completion of the Park Plaza Hotel and Tower 2 in Downtown Manhattan. The second phase of the Downtown Empire was completed in 1977 with the opening of Trump Tower, also known as the World’s Most Beautiful Building.
The current incarnation of the Downtown Empire was largely built in the 1980s with the completion of landmark projects like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the United States Supreme Court and Columbus Circle.
Trump Plaza Hotel Las Vegas
In 1978, Trump opened his first hotel outside of New York City, the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, with financial assistance from his father but the casino went quickly out-of-control and in 2001, was forced to file for bankruptcy following mounting debts and operating losses.
Trump Parc And Luxury Apartments
In 1980, while still heavily involved in real estate, Donald Trump purchased 51 acres of land in Queens, New York, known as Trump Park (now known as Trump Parc) for $20 million.
The property was home to a golf course and a planned resort hotel but nothing else and the parkland lay vacant for nearly two decades until developer Lew Berkowitz acquired the property and transformed it into a luxury residential community.
Trump Entertainment Resorts And World-Class Casinos
In 2004, while still a resident of Trump Park, President Trump partnered with developers to build the world’s first Trump Entertainment Resorts, located in the St. Louis Metro Area which would have been the first Trump-branded resort in the world.
The resorts planned for the area were to be identical to existing casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey but with a Trump name boldly printed in gold letters on a blue background, the resorts would have sported gold-colored steeples and bright-colored turrets.