Donald Trump drops "friends and family" from Chicago condo deals

Trump Tower

People who bought condos in Chicago’s Trump International Hotel & Tower at a discount through a “friends and family” program now face a tough decision: back out of the deal or agree to pay a higher price. Trump is forcing these buyers, most of whom worked on the project, to renegotiate their purchase contracts, according to a story in Crain’s Chicago Business.

His reason is self-serving but apparently legal. The condos have appreciated in value since 2003, when he offered the discounts, and he can sell them at a higher price now. Why should buyers profit, when he can score on those gains? Never mind that early sales worked to his advantage by helping him secure bank loans.

One buyer gripes that Chicago shouldn’t stand for this kind of New York-style wheeling and dealing, echoing the complaints that surfaced when the news emerged Trump, in some ways the consummate New Yorker, would build on the site of the old Chicago Sun-Times building, at 401 N Wabash Ave. I’m probably one of the few who misses that bland 1970s box. When you walked through the downstairs hallway you could look through a plate-glass window at newsprint rolling off the presses. Perhaps that’s why Trump was attracted to it.

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