Trump Sells Property
In NYC for $1.8 Billion
by Ray Smith
From The Wall Street Journal Online
June 01, 2005
Donald Trump and a group of Hong Kong investors are selling three buildings and 77 acres of land along the Hudson River on Manhattan's Upper West Side for $1.8 billion.
Under the tentative deal, the land will be sold to Extell Development Co. and the Carlyle Group, a spokesman for Trump said. Extell also purchased three rental buildings at the site, on a former rail yard between 59th and 72nd Streets along the Hudson River.
Extell plans to build eight more apartment buildings with 3,000 units. The parcel includes 21 acres that are being developed into a public park. The deal was first reported in The New York Times.
Trump has only a small equity stake in the land and buildings, and it was unclear if he instigated the sale. While the New York real-estate market has soared in recent years, industry experts say it is on more solid footing than other markets because of space limitations and the high cost of construction in the city.
Trump has not pulled back from real estate development in general. He is lending his name to a series of flashy condo towers in cities such as Miami and Toronto, markets that many say are more risky than New York. Trump also has very little money at risk in these projects.
Trump first acquired the land -- the largest undeveloped space in Manhattan -- in 1974. He went on to propose several ideas for rezoning and developing the land, all of which met with community opposition and died.
The Hong Kong investors bought a mortgage on the land in 1994, when Trump was in debt. In 1997, construction finally began on several apartment buildings.
The deal reflects the city's thriving real estate market. The average price of a condominium in Manhattan has reached $1.2 million, the Times said.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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