Can Trump trump in Soho?

While early sales at the Trump Soho hotel-condo project had investors optimistic, the 46-story building, which is expected to open April 9, has seen activity grind to a near-halt, according to the Wall Street Journal. With roughly a third of the building’s 391 units in contract, industry insiders are saying that the Soho’s so-so performance is representative of larger problems in the condo-hotel market. Many attribute the nationwide slowdown to a lack of available credit, while other experts are quick to point to the lackluster hotel industry, in which there is little enthusiasm for new projects. Of course, to ask New York Magazine, which recently released a scalding review of the building, the Trump Soho’s problem is that it’s just not cool enough for that neighborhood. A “cornucopia of walnut paneling and aubergine calfskin settees tries to attenuate the suspicion that this building doesn’t really want to be here,” the magazine’s reviewer, Justin Davidson, said. “It’s tall, but it lacks its namesake’s swagger.” [WSJ] and [NYMag]