Donald Trump was in town today for the ground breaking ceremony for his Trump International Hotel and Tower, defying many critics and real estate insiders who wondered if the project would ever see the light of day. Ryan and I were at the press conference/photo-op along with about 100 other members of the media, local dignitaries, and for some reason Tie Domi. And despite what CTV is reporting, The Donald's progeny, Ivanka and Donald Jr. were not in attendance as was originally planned.

Up until now, Trump's ultra-luxurious Tower was more famous for what it wasn't than for what it is after it was announced in July that the project would be trimmed down from 70 stories to a more modest 57. For his part, Trump claimed that it was simply an issue with the elevator company and the building will still be the same size, it will simply be less stories.

Still, in the battle between Trump and local boy Harry Stinson to build the tallest residential Tower in the country, it seems that Trump has won by default as Stinson has recently declared bankruptcy. Of course, all this will be moot if 1 Bloor comes to fruition.

Trump wouldn't go into specifics on exactly how many units have been sold or what percentage of units have been sold, simply saying they have sold $300 million worth of units. This may be because he honestly doesn't know, or because the number still is not all that impressive.

Photo by Ryan.