There goes the Trump Soho

Remember the Trump Soho Hotel? The one that Ivanka and Junior were peddling false information on to try to sell apartments? Now this:

The Trump Organization has reached a deal that will allow the company to walk away from the property by the end of next month, the company said Wednesday. It is the second time this year the Trump name was erased from a hotel development, after a June announcement in Toronto.

Located in an upscale neighborhood in a deeply Democratic city, the SoHo hotel has struggled to attract guests at five-star prices and has dropped its rates to keep rooms occupied. The property also includes condominiums that have been slow to sell. And when the building’s main restaurant decided to close in April, a lawyer for the restaurant attributed it to a decline in business “since the election.” With years remaining on the contract, CIM will pay the Trumps to end the arrangement early, according to people briefed on the matter, who described the negotiations as amicable. A buyout enables CIM to either rebrand the property, or to buy more condo units and expand the hotel before eventually selling it.

[...]

More recently, the Trump Organization and CIM, which took over the property in 2014 after the Trumps’ prior partners defaulted on a loan, discussed ways to upgrade the hotel and replace the closed restaurant. Along with an election-related slump, the general lack of investment may have partly contributed to the hotel’s struggles.

[...]

Despite the challenges, the SoHo hotel is a signature property in the backyard of the Trump family empire, making the Trump Organization’s cutting of ties unexpected. The property also carried emotional significance for the family: Not only did Mr. Trump announce the project on “The Apprentice,” but his elder children — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — were on hand, in 2007, for a glittering launch party.

[...]

The project [...] was continually troubled by litigation involving business partners, and even a criminal investigation.

[...]

The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., was pursuing a criminal investigation into the same issue, The New York Times reported last year. Prosecutors felt they had enough evidence to build a case, but Mr. Vance overruled his lawyers, several news organizations reported last month.

At the same time, a separate lawsuit alleged that the project was backed by felons and financing from Russia. Felix Sater, a Russian deal maker, felon and F.B.I. informant, had helped facilitate the deal, the lawsuit said.

[...]

Mr. Trump has tried to do his part to promote the family brand, visiting his properties on about 100 days of his presidency. Most recently, the president stopped at his hotel in Hawaii on his way to Asia.

  New York Times

No self-dealing there.

The decision about the SoHo property was made by Donald Jr. and Eric, who run the business, along with a small group of senior executives. President Trump still owns the company but is removed from day-to-day operations.

Sure. Whatever.

The more recent struggles at the SoHo tower partly reflect a broader red-blue political divide that is shaping the Trump Organization’s bottom line: Most Trump golf clubs fared better in areas that supported President Trump in last year’s election than in those that did not.

And New Yorkers do not like Mr. Trump.

[Increased scrutiny since Trump became president] has already helped derail one potential [new] hotel deal in Dallas, when it came to light that a prospective business partner for the project had ties to Russia and Kazakhstan. And other deals that might otherwise have been announced have stalled.

Those Russians again.

The lack of new deals has the Trumps exploring other ways to pull in revenue. This month the Trumps opened an online store, TrumpStore.com, selling hats, polos and other golf gear bearing the Trump name.

They will always be looking for ways to cash in on the fact that The Most Notable Loser is president.

And groups affiliated with the Republican Party continue to hold events at Trump-family properties. A weekend gathering in early November at the Mar-a-Lago club was sponsored by the Republican Attorneys General Association, along with its most important corporate donors, who had contributed at least $125,000 each.

Nothing sleazy here.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.