Trump Organisation eyes towers, offices, villas in India footprint

Tribeca Developers, which has a licensing arrangement with former U.S. president’s realty venture Trump Organisation, will be looking at developing over ₹2,500 crore worth of properties under the “Trump Towers” luxury brand in India as part of its ₹5,000 crore property development pipeline in 2023.

Kalpesh Mehta, founder of Tribeca Developers, tells Fortune India that the company follows an asset light model, “We have a strong proof of concept and we are now betting to double our portfolio over the next 12 months.”

The company, the largest developer of Trump Properties outside North America, is now looking at setting up 3 to 5 luxury residential towers across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, and Chandigarh. “We are currently in negotiation with a few developers and we would also be looking to widen the “Trump” portfolio in India to offices and villas,” Mehta says.

Donald Trump Junior, executive vice-president of The Trump Organisation and son of Donald Trump, says: “Over the past 10 years, I have seen Tribeca’s development capabilities evolve to a level where it now rivals the best global luxury developers. I am looking forward to our joint expansion plans over the coming years in India.” During his days as a student at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and later during his stint with the Carlyle Group in New York, Mehta, came to be friends with Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser.

The Trump Organisation, which first entered India by tying up with the Chordias of Panchshil Realty in Pune, currently has four luxury projects with a cumulative 2.5 million sq ft. Of this, two projects – Gurgaon and Kolkata – are being built, while it has completed projects in Pune, and in Mumbai with the Lodhas. Without getting into specifics, Mehta says the Trump Towers have managed to hike prices by 30%. The company is currently selling its Delhi project (1.2 mn sq ft) at an all-inclusive price of ₹24,000 per sq ft and its 0.4 million sq ft project in Kolkata at ₹14,500 per sq ft. 

Tribeca Developers, which follows an asset light real estate development model, marked its 10th anniversary at an event held on the rooftop of one of their marquee projects. The company, besides ramping up the Trump Tower portfolio, is also looking at another ₹2,500 crore worth of projects under the Tribeca brand, which will be restricted to existing geographies of Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi-NCR.

Overall, Tribeca is developing over 6 million square feet of branded residential projects in India. Trump Jr rules out picking up any equity stake in the company though. “That is not how we have built the Trump Organisation’s business model,” says Trump Jr.