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Faced with lawsuits from angry buyers, the developers of Trump Soho in New York are offering partial refunds to buyers who agree not to join the legal actions.
Only buyers who have not closed their purchases will be eligible for refunds up to half their deposits, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The lawsuits accuse the developers of fraud and misrepresenting the project in sales pitches. Specifically, the developers consistently over-reported the number of sales in the much-discussed project, which was heavily marketing to international buyers, the suits allege.
Contacted by the WSJ, Donald Trump refused to comment. But he did say the prospect of converting the condo-hotel units into pure hotel rooms was appealing because “the hotel is doing so well." Trump has a licensing and management deal for the 46-story tower, which was developed by the Sapir Organization and Bayrock Group.
Units in the project originally started at $1.2 million for a studio. But buyers could only use the units for a certain number of days a year, due to local zoning laws restricting new apartment developments. Locals vehemently protested the development, which began selling units shortly before the market crashed.
Although representatives of the project boasted that 60 percent of the units had sold, only about 25 percent were actually under contract, the suits allege.
