Trump Organization Wins Slim Vote To Advance $3B Condo Plans At Doral Golf Resort

The Trump Organization's plan to add 1,498 condos around the Trump National Doral golf course cleared an early hurdle Wednesday night. 

The Doral City Council in a 3-2 vote passed the first reading of a proposal that would change the zoning on the southeastern portion of the golf club and resort. The change would allow four towers and a fifth smaller building to be built around the perimeter of the existing clubhouse and hotel. 

“What Doral has is a very unique situation. You have four golf courses next to each other,” Felix Lasarte, the attorney representing the developer, told council members Wednesday night. “We believe there’s going to be a lot of international, national and local buyers that like the Trump brand and want to be part of the golfing experience that they can have there.”

The project is expected to cost roughly $3B, Bloomberg reported.

The development firm of the former president and Republican nominee in the November election proposed the project through a Delaware LLC called Trump Endeavor 12. 

Condos at the towers, slated to be named Doral International Towers, would start at $2M and be prohibited from being used as short-term rentals, Lasarte said. The residential portion would sit atop 142K SF of retail space targeted toward luxury shops and upscale dining. 

The project would likely be built in phases, with The Trump Organization aiming to launch sales in the spring or summer of 2025, Lasarte told the South Florida Business Journal. He didn't respond to a request for comment from Bisnow.

Renderings of the project presented Wednesday show 20-story buildings flanking the corner of Northwest 87th Avenue and Northwest 36th Street, with what was described at the meeting as a 3-acre park with a plaza and water feature anchoring the project. 

Much of the proposed development site is surface parking, and a new parking garage would serve as the pedestal for the central and largest tower.

Lasarte said at the meeting that the total unit count would likely be below the proposed number because the plan is for some buyers to combine multiple units into a single condo. 

Trump National Doral already hosts a 470-key hotel and four golf courses, including the Blue Monster, which has hosted PGA Tour and LIV Golf competitions. Trump purchased the nearly 800-acre development for $150M in 2012. 

Lasarte said he expected buyers would be seasonal users and second-home buyers, telling the city council that traffic wouldn't be an issue because the condos would only be occupied 20% of the time and the proposal included $4M in road upgrades. 

Two Doral residents spoke out against the proposal at the meeting, while city staff recommended that the resolution be approved. After a short presentation from Lasarte, council members voted without asking any questions or further discussion. 

Vice Mayor Oscar Puig-Corve and Councilwomen Maureen Porras and Digna Cabral voted in favor of the resolution. Mayor Christi Fraga and Councilman Rafael Pineyro voted against. 

Fraga told Bisnow in a statement that her opposition to the resolution was because of concerns about traffic and fears that it could create a glut of condos on the market. 

“A top issue concerning Doral residents is traffic congestion and overdevelopment, especially residential units,” Fraga said. "I value and appreciate President Trump's business investment and presence in our city, but my duty above all is to Doral's residents.”

Puig-Corve said in a phone interview Thursday that the project is a natural continuation of the densification of that eastern side of town, which includes the ongoing transformation of the city’s downtown spearheaded by Codina Partners. 

“We want the high density on that side of town, not on the residential side where the single-family homes are,” Puig-Corve said. “We already have high density on that side, and that’s what I continue to support.” 

The Trump Organization and Pineyro didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Fraga, elected as the city's first female mayor in 2022, and Pineyro are both running unopposed for reelection in November. Puig-Corve has opted not to run, although he said he thinks he could win. 

“I decided to be a resident and not an elected official,” Puig-Corve said of his vote in favor. “My decision is based on what I truly feel is good for Doral.”

A second and final reading of the resolution will likely be on the next council agenda, Puig-Corve said, but the project will have to come before the council at least once more for site plan approval.

With one of the proposal's supporters leaving the council, the winner of Puig-Corve's seat could become the deciding vote on whether the project advances.

The plan pitched by The Trump Organization Wednesday night is an updated version of a 2,209-unit proposal from August 2022. The two proposals call for the same number of buildings, but the latest plan increases the commercial space in exchange for fewer condos. 

Trump’s development firm has also filed plans to build a three-story office building on a surface parking lot at Trump International Golf Club Jupiter, north of Palm Beach. The 45K SF building is proposed as the new office for all of Trump’s Florida club operations, but it would be large enough to host other Trump businesses. 

The former president’s eldest sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., live nearby and work out of offices at the golf course.

UPDATE, AUG. 16, 9:25 A.M. ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Doral Mayor Christi Fraga.