The Trump Organization has submitted plans for a nearly $200 million expansion of the Trump International Golf Links property in Aberdeen, Scotland.
The company's plans largely include real-estate development, including goals to build 500 houses, 50 cottages, a sports center, a shopping center and a horse riding facility. The organization, headed operationally by Eric Trump, promised 2,000 temporary jobs in the region for the construction projects, as well 300 permanent jobs once the development is complete.
When Trump International Golf Links was first approved in 2008, the Trump Organization promised a total $1.3 billion investment. Through 2017, the Trump Organization had spent approximately one-tenth that figure. Part of that was a decision made to withhold investment in the resort in legal protest of an ultimately constructed wind farm off the shores of the property.
As part of the development's approval in 2006, the Trump Organization was authorized to build 2,750 homes on the 1,500-acre property, provided a golf course was opened first. With this new phase, which the Trump Organization plans to begin in 2019, the company plans to build upon what are dubbed local and regional infrastructure improvements. The homes, which will be built over 3-5 years, will sell for a minimum of $387,000 and go up to several million dollars.
To this point, the Aberdeen resort has been unable to turn a profit, and it has been able to take advantage of special tax breaks to help soften losses. A third-party economist estimates these developments will mean approximately $328 million to the region.
