| Trump Ocean Baja Mexico The Spa Tower | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Abandoned |
| Type | residential, hotel |
| Location | Playas de Tijuana, Tijuana |
| Coordinates | 32°28′10″N 117°07′05″W / 32.469467°N 117.118065°W |
| Construction started | 2007 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 98 metres (322 ft) (projected) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 27 |
| Design and construction | |
| Developer | The Trump Organization and Irongate |
Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico was a failed luxury condominium-hotel resort to be located at Punta Bandera in the Playas de Tijuana borough of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, approximately 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from the San Ysidro border crossing.[1]
It was initially announced in 2006 as a joint venture between the Trump Organization and Los Angeles–based real estate development company Irongate. Investors were led to believe that Trump CEO Donald Trump was supervising the project, however he was just licensing his name for the development, and so the investors sued the company.[2][3]
This was the second Trump-Irongate joint venture, and followed the more successful Trump International Hotel and Tower (Honolulu) venture.
The project was to be a 3-tower, 25-story, 526-unit condo-hotel.[1]
In late 2008, with the project experiencing delays and cost overruns, Trump removed his name from the development.
In early 2009, The Associated Press reported[4] that the project had collapsed financially; investors who had put down deposits on the project condos faced a total loss of their down payments (typically $200,000 – $300,000 per person). After its collapse, Trump (whose videos promoting the development had been shown to potential investors) claimed that he had been little more than a spokesperson for the entire venture, and disavowed any financial responsibility for the debacle.[5]
In the litigation that ensued in a California court, Donald Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., his daughter Ivanka Trump and the Trump Organization were named as defendants citing violation of Federal and State law. Trump's attorneys sought to question a San Diego Union-Tribune reporter about a 2006 story with the headline "Trump puts 'brand' on Baja with condo-hotel," which quoted Trump as being a "significant," equity investor in the development.[6] Citing California's Shield Law, a California court rejected Trump's effort, siding with attorneys for the newspaper reporter.[7]
After 4+1⁄2 years of litigation, Trump settled the lawsuit against him in November 2013, for an undisclosed amount. Trump's developer partners, Jason Grosfeld, Adam Fisher and Irongate Developers had earlier settled with the buyers for $7.25 million.[8] The attorneys representing almost 200 buyers in the litigation venued in Los Angeles County were Bart I. Ring and Daniel J. King.[9][10]
On October 29, 2016, Jaime Martínez Veloz filed a criminal complaint against Trump for fraud involved in this development as well as tax evasion on Trump's mercantile business in Mexico.[11]
- ^ a b Showley, Roger (December 9, 2011). "Trump project site for sale in Baja". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
- ^ "World Property Journal".
- ^ Vogell, Heather; Bernstein, Andrea; Cramer, Meg; Elkind, Peter (October 17, 2018). "Pump and Trump". ProPublica.
In 2006, he said the Trump Organization would be a significant equity investor in the $200 million Baja project and repeatedly portrayed himself as the project's developer. Yet in 2008, the company admitted it was neither a developer nor an investor.
- ^ "Trump Baja venture leaves buyers high and dry". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Buying a Trump Property, or So They Thought". New York Times.
- ^ Weisberg, Lori; Dibble, Sandra (October 22, 2006). "Trump puts "brand" on Baja with condo-hotel". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015.
- ^ "The Press-Enterprise".
- ^ Pfeifer, Stuart (November 27, 2013). "Donald Trump settles lawsuit over Baja condo resort that went bust". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
- ^ Daniel King Law (December 22, 2016). "Donald Trump's failed Baja California Hotel Condominium project". Law Offices of Daniel J. King. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^ "Mr. Ring's Landmark Case Against Donald J. Trump, Ivanka Trump, Donald J. Trump And The Trump Organization". Bart I. Ring, Attorney at Law. The Ring Law Firm. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
- ^ Bernal, Rafael. "Trump accused of tax fraud in Mexico". The Hill. Retrieved November 2, 2016.