Gold Coast to get Australia's tallest skyscraper with a Trump-branded tower plan

It all started with a cold-call to a then-twenty-something Ivanka Trump.

Now the Gold Coast is poised to become home to Australia's tallest skyscraper.

Developers have unveiled plans for a Trump-branded tower rising up to 340 metres above Surfers Paradise.

Altus Property Group chief executive David Young confirmed he had signed an agreement with the Trump Organization, a deal he said was almost twenty years in the making.

"I managed to get a phone number for [then] Miss Trump; 19 years ago I made the call and Donald Trump's daughter picked up," Mr Young said.

The project faced numerous hurdles, including the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, before being inked on Valentine's Day in 2024 at Mar-a-Lago resort in the US.

The location, 3 Trickett Street, has long been a vacant site in the heart of the tourist strip. It was formerly the home of Iluka Beach Resort.

The plans include a 285-room hotel bearing the Trump name as well as 272 high-end residential apartments which will sell from a cool $5 million.

A three-level podium featuring a private beach club, swimming pool and a Michelin-worthy restaurants are also in the works.

Overall the project will cost $1.5 billion and is expected to be finished before the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.

However, the project has yet to secure planning approval.