More Lawsuits Filed Over Trump Tower Chicago
Litigation is heating up over the financing at Trump Tower Chicago.
Deutsche Bank filed a $40 million lawsuit against Donald Trump on Friday in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan claiming that Mr. Trump personally guaranteed the loan.
From the Chicago Tribune:
This latest suit, filed by Deutsche in Manhattan, calls for Trump to make good on the personal payment guaranty he signed in February 2005 for the building if he didn’t make the loan payments on time. The suit alleges that Trump did not pay the more than $330 million due Nov. 7, a date that had already been extended, and that on Nov. 10, Deutsche made written demands for the outstanding loan payment and the $40 million guaranty.
It also notes that in recent press articles tied to a development in Scotland, Trump was quoted as talking about the company’s “very, very strong cash position.” A hearing on the suit is set for Jan. 9.
This comes on the heels of Trump’s lawsuit which attempts to extend the terms of the loan agreement.
Meanwhile, Trump keeps insisting that construction of the tower will be completed on schedule, within 5 months, and that the financing to complete construction will be in place by Monday or Tuesday of this week.
“We have every belief that they are going to fund either Monday night or Tuesday morning,” said Trump attorney Steven Schlesinger.
“The monthly draws on the construction loan have been in the $20-million range. We were working on the documents for the draw and I think they were substantially completed Wednesday night.”
The saga continues…
Trump in $40 million dispute with lender [Chicago Tribune, Nov 30, 2008]
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I’m not a fan of Trump or his projects. I think they are cookie-cutter buildings that bring nothing new to the cities they occupy. That being said, I would be more than happy if Trump fails in Chicago. The last thing we need is more un-inspirational buildings going up.
Hopefully somehow, someway the Chicago Spire goes up.
I thought Trump had learned not to put his own money on the line? Maybe this time the arrogant S.O.B. can go bankrupt for real.
I don’t love trump, but I do think that his building is more interesting on the skyline than a lot of the other recent condo projects that have gone up.
It is my recollection that Trump didn’t put cash in the deal. It was the Sun-Times’ swindlers (being out-of-towners), Ratner and Black, that approached Trump and I remember reading that the Sun-Times put the land site into the joint venture.
Usually, a land site like this provides the 25% equity, and then a 75% construction loan is utilized.
Trump apparently provided a personal guarantee.
Lastly, Trump probably would have produced a worse building, but Mayor Daley made him hire Adrian Smith (ex-SOM) to be the architect.
I think the building looks pretty good, but the light blue glass doesn’t stand out enough against the sky.
I know for a fact that in many deals in the last 10 years, Trump didn’t put money in, he just sold his brand-name. In a deal in Sunny Isles, FL the developer was able to raise his condo prices by $100 per sf just bringing in the Trump name. Give Trump 75% of that free “bump” and it’s (it was) a win-win.
Let the house of cards fall, Trump is playing nothing more than a shell game,
I’m thinking about buying a 1 bedroom in this unit and desperately need people’s opinion of this property.