JW Marriott Panama

The JW Marriott Panama (formerly The Bahia Grand Panama, before that Trump International Hotel & Tower Panama, and before that Trump Ocean Club) is a 70 floor, 2,710,000 sq ft (252,000 m2), mixed-use waterfront hotel and condominium tower development in Panama City, Panama, in the area of Punta Pacifica. It opened in 2011 as the first international "named branded development" of The Trump Organization. At 284 meters, it is the tallest building in Panama[2] and the tallest building in Central America.[3]

JW Marriott Panama
JW Marriott Panamá (Spanish)
JW Marriott Panama
General information
TypeHotel, Condo, Residential, Casino, Office Tower & Commercial Retail
Architectural stylePostmodern
LocationPunta Colon, Punta Pacifica, Panama City, Panama
Construction started2007
Completed2011
CostUS$400 million[1]
OwnerIthaca Capital Partners
ManagementMarriott International
Height
Tip284.4 m (933 ft)
Roof284.4 m (933 ft)[1]
Technical details
Floor count70[1]
Floor area252,000 m2 (2,710,000 sq ft)[1]
Lifts/elevators37
Design and construction
Architect(s)Arias Serna Saravia S.A.
DeveloperEspacios Urbanos, K Group
Website
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/ptymj-jw-marriott-panama/

Building

The project was designed by Colombian architects Arias - Serna - Saravia S.A.[4] It includes a five-star hotel of 369 hotel condominium units, 628 residential condominium units, 1500 parking spaces, 36 retail shops, 10 story office tower, a 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m2) casino operated by Sun International,[5] daily ferry service to the Pearl Islands, yacht club and pier, wellness spa, gym, pool deck, meeting and event spaces, and a business center.[6]

The 13-story base is topped by a tower resembling the Burj Al Arab, a hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates;[6][7] before its completion the developer asked for a preemptive injunction against lawsuits by Jumeirah Group over the similarity.[8] The interior was designed by Hirsch Bedner Associates.[9]

Construction began in May 2007.[10] When built, the tower was the tallest building in Latin America; as of 2008 it remains the tallest in Central America and still remains the largest mixed use building of its kind in Latin America.[6]

History

Donald Trump arranged financing for the project from the investment bank Bear Stearns - a $230 million bond offering[11] - for which he received a $2.2 million commission.[10][12] During the financing, Ivanka Trump falsely claimed that over 90% of the units had been sold, and that their sale price was five times that of comparable units.[10][13] Ivanka Trump also exaggerated demand for the units, claiming in 2009 they were selling out even as potential buyers were being offered substantial discounts.[10][14] During the development, Donald Trump falsely implied that the Trump Organization had a financial stake in the project, and that it was acting as the developer, neither of which were true.[10]

The building was developed by Roger Khafif, President of the K Group, a Panama resort developer and three Colombian partners by Newland International Properties Corp. Khafif first conceptualized the project in 2005, and arranged a meeting with Donald Trump via Marvin Traub.[10][11] A contract was signed initiating the project in New York City in 2006.[11] Ivanka Trump was given a lead role in developing the project.[10]

The hotel opened on July 6, 2011, approximately one year behind schedule, in a ceremony attended by President Ricardo Martinelli.[10][1][15] In September 2011 Fitch Ratings downgraded $220 million in bonds that Newland International Properties Corp. was using to finance construction of the building from B-sf to CCsf because of "continued uncertainty over the willingness and ability" of buyers to take possession of apartment units.[16]

Newland licensed the Trump brand name for an initial fee of $1 million,[10][8] the hotel was the first international Trump "name branded" development to open.[7][9] Donald Trump reportedly personally profited between $30 million and $55 million from the project.[10]

The Trump Organization managed the hotel under contract until March 2018, when Cypriot businessman Orestes Fintiklis, who had bought a majority stake in the hotel condominium association, legally ousted them and had the Trump name removed from the building in 2015 and from the hotel March 5, 2018.[17] The hotel was temporarily renamed The Bahia Grand Panama prior to Marriott’s involvement.[18]

On March 22, the Panamanian law firm Britton and Iglesias unsuccessfully petitioned Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela to intercede and restore the Trump Organization's management team.[19][20]

On June 28, 2018, it was announced that the hotel would become a JW Marriott.[21] It was officially renamed on September 26, 2018.[22]

In June 2019 Fintiklis accused Trump companies of tax evasion.[23][24]

  • JW Marriott Panama during construction in 2008
    JW Marriott Panama during construction in 2008
  • JW Marriott construction finished
    JW Marriott construction finished
  • Skyline view of Panama City, JW Marriott at left
    Skyline view of Panama City, JW Marriott at left
  • JW Marriott side view from street
    JW Marriott side view from street

See also

References
  1. "Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower". Skyscraperpage. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  2. Jeva Lange (May 21, 2018). "Former ambassador claims Trump was unduly concerned with the size of his Panama hotel". The Week.
  3. "JW Marriott Panama Hotel Opens in Tallest Building in Central America".
  4. "Arias Serna Saravia". TrumpOceanClub.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  5. Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower Panama (November 29, 2012). "Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower Panama announces Sun International as casino operator" (Press release). Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  6. Loftus, Karen. "Review: Trump International Hotel and Tower — Panama City". Luxury Latin America. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  7. Brass, Kevin (July 15, 2011). "Donald finally comes up trumps in Panama". The National. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  8. "Trump project in Panama goes to court over talk it copied design of famous Dubai hotel". The International Herald Tribune (Raising the Roof blog). May 21, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2017 – via The New York Times.
  9. Larrota, Jose (February 28, 2012). "Ivanka Trump exclusive at Trump Ocean Club Panama". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  10. Vogell, Heather; Bernstein, Andrea; Cramer, Meg; Elkind, Peter (October 17, 2018). "Pump and Trump". ProPublica.
  11. Rogers, Tim (March 20, 2010). "Donald Trump Goes on an Adventure in Panama". Time.
  12. "Licensor Documents TOC Jun07". July 5, 2007. pp. 20–21. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  13. "The Beat with Ari Melber: MSNBC: October 18, 2018 3:00pm-4:00pm PDT". The Internet Archive. October 18, 2018.
  14. Bamrud, Joachim (March 2, 2009). "Ivanka Trump: Panama Hottest Market". Latin Trade. Our biggest problem is not having enough inventory. We only have a small percent of the building left.
  15. Cadena, Patricia (July 7, 2011). "Trump inaugura en Panamá el edificio más alto de Latinoamérica [Trump inaugurates the tallest building in Latin America in Panama]" (in Spanish). eju.tv.
  16. Sabo, Eric (September 21, 2011). "Fitch Downgrades Trump Hotel Builder in Panama, Citing Defaults". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  17. Currud, Ana; Fahrenthold, David A. (March 5, 2018). "Trump Panama hotel showdown appears to end, and the Trump name is coming down". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 5, 2018 – via San Francisco Chronicle.
  18. "Former Trump hotel in Panama City rebranded as JW Marriott". Associated Press. September 25, 2018.
  19. Semple, Kirk; Protess, Ben (April 10, 2018). "Trump Company Lawyers Asked Panama President for Help in Hotel Dispute". The New York Times.
  20. Cerrud, Ana; Fahrenthold, David A. (April 9, 2018). "Warning of 'repercussions,' Trump company lawyers seek Panama president's help". The Washington Post. Lawyers representing President Trump's company last month wrote directly to the president of Panama, asking him to intervene in a legal fight over the Trump International Hotel in the capital — and warning that the case could have "repercussions" for Panama's reputation.
  21. "JW Marriott Hotel Coming to Panama".
  22. "JW Marriott Panama Hotel Opens in Tallest Building in Central America".
  23. "A Former Business Partner Alleges the Trumps Evaded Taxes in Panama". The New York Times. June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  24. Heather Vogell (June 3, 2019). "Trump Companies Accused of Tax Evasion in Panama; In the latest chapter in ongoing litigation, the private equity fund that bought what used to be called the Trump Ocean Club claims the Trump entities pocketed money that should have gone to the Panamanian government". Propublica.org. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
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