Donald Trump attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a taxpayer-funded golf course in the Bronx’s Ferry Point Park on Wednesday that will be run by the Trump Organization. The Donald was joined at the 192-acre site by elected officials including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
Though the ribbon was cut on Wednesday and signified the end of 12 years of construction, the Trump Golf Links is not slated to open until 2015. The city had initially set aside $20 million to build the course, but the costs skyrocketed to $100 million by 2010 and the developer dropped out of the project, the New York Daily News reported. Trump then swooped in and won the right to operate the course for 20 years.
“For the first time, New York City golfers will reap the benefits of a world class golfing experience unlike any other,” Trump said at the course, according to the newspaper. Trump will get to operate the course rent-free for the first four years, and receive $350,000 per year after that. He will also invest $10 million in a 12,000-square-foot clubhouse next to the course.
The course is public, but fees to tee off are likely to be triple those on other public courses in the city, according to the Daily News.
The project has attracted its share of critics, including city comptroller John Liu, who launched an investigation last year into the project’s costs. [NYDN] – Hiten Samtani