Trump World Tower
The Municipal Art Society also challenged the project on grounds of air pollution. Opponents lost their battle in state court. Trump World Tower was briefly the tallest all-residential tower in the world, prior to the completion of the 21st Century Tower in Dubai (2003) and the Tower Palace 3 in Seoul (2004). The tallest of the handful of wholly residential towers completed to date by Donald Trump, it cost approximately US$300 million to construct. Construction of the building began in 1999. The construction was financed by two German lenders, Deutsche Bank and Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank.
Prior to construction, many neighbors, including veteran journalist Walter Cronkite, opposed the building due to its height and lack of distinguishing exterior features. East Side neighbors who opposed the project raised $400,000 in a bid to defeat it, with investment manager and philanthropist Alberto Vilar contributing $100,000. Among the concerns was that this tower would dwarf the headquarters of the United Nations across the street, in particular the United Nations Secretariat Building. Opponents argued that the project would block views, was aesthetically unappealing, violated zoning laws, and was out of character with the surrounding neighborhood.
The building is constructed with concrete to increase its wind resistance. In 1961, the 18-story United Engineering Center was built on the site. Catholic Holy Family Church and the Japan Society. In 1997, Donald Trump and his partners, including the Daewoo Corp., a South Korean chaebol, signed a deal to purchase the site from the United Engineering Trustees for $52 million. The Center was demolished to make way for the Trump World Tower.
In 2002, Bill Gates, Harrison Ford, and Sophia Loren were reported to have owned or rented apartments in the building. In February 2017 she relisted it for $13 million. It is a popular spot among UN diplomats who work nearby. Socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein owns a 5,160-square-foot, eight bedroom penthouse in the Tower. In 2015 she listed it for $17.5 million, but it did not sell. The World Bar, a two-story bar and cocktail lounge, is located in the building.
Trump World Tower is a residential condominium building in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Designed by the architect Costas Kondylis, the building is 861 feet (262 m) high and has 72 constructed floors (but lists 90 stories on elevator panels) with curtain wall facades of dark, bronze-tinted glass. Trump World Tower has 376 units. The resulting large windows allow for extensive views of the East River and Midtown Manhattan. The tower is located at 845 United Nations Plaza, on First Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets.
The penthouse on the top two floors of the structure which totaled 20,000 square feet (1,858 m²) was priced at $58 million; however, after failing to sell for years, it was split into four different units. Around 2006, Donald Trump was involved in a struggle with the condominium board at the Trump World Tower. The tower’s most expensive floors attracted wealthy buyers from the former Soviet Union. Trump requested the assistance of lawyer Michael Cohen, and Trump gained control of the board. New York Yankees star Derek Jeter purchased a 5,425-square-foot condominium for $12.6 million in 2001, and sold it in 2012 for $15.5 million.
