Trump tower is set to open

Downtown Express photo by Lincoln Anderson

The Trump Soho at Spring and Varick Sts.

The Trump Soho hotel and condominium is scheduled to open April 9.

The 42-story, 391-unit property, at 246 Spring St., broke ground in 2007 and was originally scheduled to open in fall 2009. But its completion was delayed after a crane collapse in 2008 that left a worker dead and caused a stop-work order.

According to The Real Deal, the building had sale prices of up to $2.5 million for an 845-square-foot unit when units were marketed in 2007. The project is a joint development of the Bayrock Group and the Sapir Organization, with the Trump Organization heading marketing and operations.

Trump won a legal fight against the Soho Alliance community organization, which charged that the building would be a residential “Trojan horse.”

Sean Sweeney, the alliance’s director, said, “Trump tried to sneak in nonconforming residential condos disguised as a permitted hotel. When community activists forced a restriction of 120 days residency per year, the nails were hammered into the coffin. Who would pay $3,000 a square foot for a place they could reside in only four months a year? The hotel is almost two years behind schedule after the sales of overpriced units and the financing all but evaporated. Reports claim the project is nearly bankrupt. Soho to Trump: You’re fired!”