A Trump-sized loan: It was among the biggest financing deals to hit the South Florida condo market. The Trump Group’s $558 million construction loan for The Estates at Acqualina in Sunny Isles turned heads. Not surprisingly, it was Bank OZK that provided the loan. Formerly Bank of the Ozarks, the deal again shows the Arkansas-based bank’s aggressiveness in the local condo market, where it has financed much of the recent boom.
With the funding, Jules Trump, (no relation to the president) his wife Stephanie and his brother Eddie now can build both 50-story towers of The Estates at Acqualina, as well as the amenity villa, called Villa Acqualina. That’s a change in direction for the developers. In 2016, Jules Trump had put sales and construction of the $1.5 billion project’s north tower on hold amid the market slowdown.
Trump recently said that sales are above 65 percent for the south tower, which broke ground in May. With markets like Brazil and Russia pulling back on foreign spending, the developers have switched their focus to the U.S., including those markets in the Northeast that have state income tax, he said.
