Billion-dollar plan to build a Trump Tower on the Gold Coast is SCRAPPED just months after deal was signed: 'Toxic'

By PAUL SHAPIRO, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 06:43, 13 May 2026 | Updated: 06:50, 13 May 2026 The Trump family have pulled out of a deal to build a $1.2billion Trump Tower on the Gold Coast - but say they haven't given up hope of establishing a 'supertower' Down Under. It was revealed on Wednesday that the Trump organisation split from Australian developer Altus Property Group just three months after the development deal was signed at US President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump's company claimed Altus 'failed to fulfil its obligations' while Altus boss David Young said 'the writing was on the wall'. 'While we were very excited about the opportunity to bring a world-class development to the Gold Coast, the project was dependent on our licensing partner meeting certain obligations. Unfortunately, those obligations were not fulfilled,' a Trump family spokesperson said. 'We look forward to exploring other potential projects and bringing a Trump property to Australia soon.' Mr Young, who received incredible publicity for his project, said he still planned to develop the prime Surfers Paradise beachfront site.  He said the Godzilla-sized 91-storey tower development was an 'ongoing project' and the departure of the Trumps was 'pure business'. 'This is an ongoing project and behind the headlines there are facts and the major point is being in recent events the brand in this country has become toxic to Australians,' Mr Young said in a statement on LinkedIn. A render of what the proposed gold Trump Tower would've looked like US President Donald Trump's family wants to build a Trump Tower in Australia 'The writing was on the wall when the war (in the Middle East) started and I have been in discussions with many high-end luxury brands. 'The Trump standards were exemplary, ergo any high-end brand in the world will enjoy this opportunity to be on one of the most famous beaches in the world. 'There is no acrimony between the Trump family and myself, why would there be after knowing them for 19 years when no one here then even knew who Donald Trump was. 'It is pure business (and) my team and I look forward to completing the project.' A Trump Organisation spokeswoman hit back at Mr Young's claims their brand was 'toxic', and said pulling out of the deal followed 'empty promise after empty promise'. 'Mr Young's attempt to blame certain world events for our termination of the agreement is merely a ploy to distract from his own defaults and failures,' she told NCA Newswire.  The $1.2billion project earmarked for a prime beachfront Trickett Street site was unveiled in February. Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organisation, previously said the tower would have a 285-room hotel, 272 luxury units and an exclusive beach club. Eric Trump (pictured with wife Lara Trump) signed the Gold Coast deal in February An artist's impression of the proposed Trump Tower's prime beachside entrance Mr Young signed the deal with Eric Trump at his family's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. A development application was never lodged with the council. If the project had been completed it would've been 335 metres high - making it the tallest skyscraper in Australia. The proposed and seemingly cursed site had previously been earmarked for the failed Spirit tower, an 89-storey luxury residential apartment block which had also been intended to be Australia's tallest building. Macau casino operator Loi Keong Kuong bought the site in 2019 for $56.5m after the Spirit project fell over. Gold Coast worker Jordan Quoc-Tien Hoai Nguyen started a petition supporting the Trump Tower project in January because he believed developing the vacant site would create jobs. 'The prime parcel of land has sat empty while surrounding areas continue to grow, prompting renewed calls for action from both developers and council,' Mr Nguyen said after it was revealed the Trumps pulled out. 'The site had become a symbol of delay and wasted opportunity in a rapidly expanding city. A spokesperson for Trump's family claimed the project's Australian developer 'failed to fulfil its obligations' Mr Nguyen also said the land has 'been empty for too long'. 'The Gold Coast is growing fast and this site should already be contributing jobs, investment, tourism and economic activity instead of sitting vacant,' he said. However, opposition to the Trump Tower announcement sparked controversy, with more than 140,000 people signing four separate petitions to block the development. 'Australians uniting together for a common cause, we took on the President of the United States and beat him,' change.org petition organiser Craig Hill told news.com.au. 'If [the developers] want to go ahead with the building, we'd be quite happy about that, it was mainly the Trump brand. '[The Trump Tower announcement] put up prices, it's put housing prices up, it put rates up. 'It's put some small businesses out of business, because they have an entertainment precinct, they have a retail precinct, all the small businesses around the area get put out of business. So that's why we were against it.' GetUp activist David Sharaz, and husband of Brittany Higgins, boasted on social media how his organisation launched a petition which 'gained momentum' and more than 124,000 signatures just before the project was canned by the Trump family.   However, Sharaz's post was met with a stern rebuttal by now Queensland-based entertainment journalist Peter Ford, who tweeted the Trump clan wouldn't have cared about the petitions.  'No disrespect David but it has zilch to do with the petition. It's all about the local developer not being able to meet obligations to the Trumps. Also just a small issue of the developer not actually owning the land it was to be built on. Trumps wouldn't be remotely interested in signatures,' Ford tweeted on Wednesday morning. Delayed developments and other frustrations have plagued Gold Coast residents for years.  In January 2025, the Daily Mail revealed the Gold Coast had gone to rot and was infested with vacant land, rundown buildings and homeless people. 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