Trumptastic!

Okay, class participation time. Who woke up this morning and said, “You know what this city needs? More condos!” Oh. None of you did? You mean you think the current 15 condo towers under construction — 16 if you count 10 Rittenhouse Square — and 20 delayed or proposed ones aren’t enough? (All those stats courtesy of Phillyskyline’s The Skinny and me counting them up. This doesn’t include townhouse/rowhome-style condos, too.)

Well, you know who did think that? (To get back to my “class participation” metaphor.) That’s right, the purveyor of bankruptcy, bad ideas and bad hair, Mr. Donald Trump! Today, Trump announced his plans to build a 45-story tower of luxury condominums on the waterfront.

According to the Inky, the tower is a $190 million project on Penn St. right at the start of Spring Garden St. (The exact location wasn’t disclosed.) Compared to other waterfront residences, it’d be five stories higher than Waterfront St., which is further north on Penn Street.

Of course, Trump also applied for a casino license in Nicetown (along with Pat Croce and members of Boyz II Men and no, I’m not kidding). But while the slots game in Philly is new, Trump seems to be getting into the condo boom in the city a bit late, especially as all the hype is showing signs of starting to wane. But, really, they could still sell out — Trump said that’s what happened at his 110-story Chicago condo tower. As long as it doesn’t have “TRUMP” in giant letters at the top of it.

Then again, maybe it’s part of a cross-promotional deal. Over at Wookified, the blogger speculates that inevitably the winner of the next Apprentice will make the short trip down to Philly (perhaps NJ Transit-to-SEPTA?) and manage something at the new Trump Tower. Maybe he could then do a crossover with American Dreams, if it hasn’t been cancelled yet?

Trump plans luxury condos [Inky]
The Skinny [Phillyskyline]
The Seal [Wookified]