Trump’s experts lean on $1.5B potential offer for Doral resort in fraud case

As Donald Trump’s real estate portfolio faces scrutiny from the New York Attorney General, his experts stress that his most valuable asset is not in New York City or Palm Beach, but in Doral.

To back up their claims, the experts say the 650-plus-acre Trump National Doral Miami resort has unparalleled redevelopment opportunities in South Florida’s booming real estate market. They cite a $1.3 billion valuation from Newmark.

They also point to a previously unreported bid from controversial investor Adam Hochfelder’s New York-based Turks Capital Partners in mid-June to acquire the property for $1.5 billion.

Interest from Hochfelder’s firm came about just months before the start of the highly publicized civil fraud trial in Manhattan against the former president, his sons Eric and Don Jr. and the Trump Organization. 

Attorney General Letitia James’ office has focused their attention on Deutsche Bank’s loans to Trump, including a $125 million mortgage backing the Doral property. On Wednesday, a former Deutsche Bank official testified that the bank relied on Trump’s financial statements.

Trump has called the case a “politically motivated witch hunt.” Trump’s legal team has also hired its own valuation experts to refute the Attorney General’s valuations. Some of those valuations lean on Hochfelder’s offer.

But Hochfelder says the potential bid was dependent on substantial upzoning to build thousands of residential units, which would mark one of the biggest residential development sites in South Florida. 

Hochfelder’s letter further offers a window into what may have been playing out behind the scenes, as the Trumps were preparing to defend their valuations in court. 

Trump National Doral Miami

The one-page letter presenting Hochfelder’s interest in Trump Doral had only a few details.

It was signed by Hochfelder and addressed to Eric Trump, thanking Trump for “working with us” on the potential acquisition. Hochfelder noted his team was analyzing the deal, but he was interested in submitting a letter of intent. Hochfelder also said he was willing to enter into an non-disclosure agreement to receive financial information to conduct a proper evaluation of the property.

“There are still questions that need to be answered and additional work that needs to be done,” he wrote.

The timing of Hochfelder’s letter was fortuitous for Trump’s legal team. Just two weeks after the June 19 letter, Trump’s experts, Frederick Chin and Greg Christovich, submitted their rebuttals of the attorney general’s expert’s valuations. 

Both claim the attorney general’s expert Larry Hirsh ignored the Trump Doral property in his assessment. 

They highlighted a presentation by Newmark in 2022 that included future development, which valued it at $1.3 billion.

Hochfelder’s bid was even higher than Newmark’s — and much higher than the valuations included in Trump’s statements of financial condition since those estimates were only based on the value of the 643-room resort and four on-site golf courses.

“Although this offer was not finalized, it serves as an indicative measure of the property’s perceived value by a qualified market participant,” Chin said in an affidavit. 

Hochfelder confirmed to The Real Deal that Turks and its institutional partner were in talks with the Trump Organization to make a bid on Trump National Doral and all of the land related to the property.

But he made an important distinction. 

“The offer was contingent on obtaining approvals to build 4,400 residential units on the property,” which he said his lawyers at Nelson Mullins were reviewing.

Hochfelder is a unique character in New York City real estate, and his career has been marked by a series of highs and lows. Hochfelder burst into the scene in the ‘90s, rising up the ranks at Newmark before partnering with Richard Kalikow to start Max Capital. There, the company’s portfolio grew to be worth over $2 billion and included 237 Park Avenue and 230 Park Avenue. 

Yet, his career later hit rough spots. In 2010, he pleaded guilty to 18 counts of grand larceny and scheming to defraud investors, which included his friends and family. He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and ordered to pay $9.5 million in restitution.

Once released from prison, Hochfelder landed a job working for Abraham Merchant’s Merchant Hospitality Group, which acquired the upscale restaurant brand Philippe Chow. About 2020, the partnership collapsed, and Hochfelder launched Turks Capital with his father James. Hochfelder focuses on residential development in the Southeast. The firm and its principals have completed deals in Charlotte, Atlanta, and invests in multifamily properties in Opportunity Zones. 

Acquiring Trump Doral would have been a major coup for Hochfelder, or any developer. Trump bought the property out of bankruptcy for $150 million in 2012, which was home to the famed Blue Monster golf course. He then said he spent $250 million in renovations.

“Doral was a dump when The Trump Organization bought it,” Christovich said. “If you go to Doral today, I mean, it’s an amazing place, right, with millions and millions of dollars of improvements and additions and a world class spa and golf learning center.”

The real opportunity, however, for any developer is the ability to build homes on the golf courses and the surrounding property. In South Florida, land prices or residential developments have set records in recent years. 

Trump sought approval early last year for more than 2,200 residential units as part of a larger mixed-use addition on a 56-acre portion of Trump Doral that does not include the golf courses. It finally secured the green light last month for a land use change allowing for less density — about 1,400 residential units can now be built. 

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