Planned Trump tower on the Gold Coast sparks local backlash before approval stage

A vacant lot in the heart of Surfers Paradise is being pitched as the future site of Australia’s tallest skyscraper, but the proposal has already turned into a political and cultural flashpoint long before any formal planning application has been lodged.

Altus Property Group wants to build a 91-storey Trump International Hotel & Tower on the Gold Coast, a project that would combine a 285-room luxury hotel, high-end retail, restaurants and branded apartments finished to Trump specifications. At 335 metres, the tower would reshape the skyline and, if completed on schedule, be positioned as a major piece of tourism infrastructure ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

For local officials focused on post-pandemic recovery, the appeal is straightforward: investment, construction jobs and more hotel rooms in one of Australia’s busiest visitor destinations. Long-time Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate, who recently met Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago during a US trade visit, described the plan as “quite incredible” and said it was “all about quality.”

Business groups have echoed that argument, framing the project as a commercial decision rather than a political one. Martin Hall of the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce called it a “gold option” in a market already defined by rapid high-rise development, while a café worker who launched a counter-petition in support said the empty site could otherwise remain unused for decades.

The land has been vacant since 2013, when a much-loved hotel was demolished because of structural issues, and the absence of redevelopment has become a long-running point of frustration for parts of the local business community.

But the Trump name — which in this case would be used under a licensing agreement rather than through direct US investment — has turned what might have been a conventional property story into a debate about identity and branding.

An online petition opposing the project had gathered more than 26,000 signatures by Tuesday, with many signatories saying their objection was not to the development itself but to its association with Trump. The organiser, who used an alias, said she wanted a way to respond to what she described as “anti-immigrant violence and the social division” she had seen in the United States, adding: “People believe that I am against job creation, but that’s not true at all. I’m just against the Trump brand.”

That divide reflects a broader tension between the Gold Coast’s economic model — built on global tourism, high-end real estate and constant redevelopment — and the increasingly political nature of international branding. In practical terms, the apartments are expected to sell for about A$5 million, targeting wealthy buyers seeking ocean views and proximity to one of the country’s most recognisable beaches.

The origins of the project date back nearly two decades. Developer David Young says he first approached the Trump Organisation in 2007 with a “cold-call to Ivanka Trump,” and finally signed a licensing deal with Eric Trump in February this year.

“It will be an Australian, not American, project,” he said, emphasising that the development would be locally built even as it carried an international name.

Whether it proceeds at all remains uncertain. The plans have not yet been submitted to the Gold Coast City Council, and any assessment will formally be based on planning criteria rather than public sentiment. Even if approved, the tower’s claim to be the country’s tallest could be short-lived, with another nearby project expected to exceed its height.