Trumps Target Romania for Next European Real Estate Conquest

Following the collapse of a Trump-branded hotel in Serbia, the Trump Organization is targeting a different Eastern European nation for yet another controversial development.

The family firm is eyeing an opportunity at a stalled site in Cluj, Romania, the New York Times reported. The site in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains runs along one of the biggest landfills in the region and a one-time medical waste dump.

The Trump Organization is looking at putting luxury apartments and a golf course in place. A rendering of the project shows a development double the height allowable under the zoning rules in place.

“We are incredibly excited about our projects in Bucharest and Cluj, which mark our first ventures in Romania,” a spokesperson for the organization said, referencing a Trump Tower plan in the nation’s capital.

Local developer SDC Properties, led by Stefan Berciu, is applying for permits for the project; Berciu said contracts for the development have been inked. A political operative previously charged (and acquitted) of influence-peddling is also assisting in an unofficial capacity.

Both Berciu and the operative, Avram Gal, attended the president’s second inauguration and the inaugural ball, later meeting with Eric Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

The proximity to a dump isn’t the only thing about the project that reeks to critics. It’s near an encampment holding the minority Roma population, where an estimated 3,000 people live in the Pata Rat settlement, some forcibly relocated there by the government.

The development doesn’t carry the same concerns about conflicts of interest as other company projects, though there was a slight controversy during Donald Trump’s first term when the Romanian Consulate held an annual festival at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago.

There is a difficult history at the site, though. Former politician Adrian Gurzau tried to build a commercial and residential complex in 2022, supposedly pitching the idea of bringing on the Trumps to his partner, Berciu. A corruption inquiry into the project spoiled its development. Gurzau is suing Berciu.

— Holden Walter-Warner