Ex-publisher, kids profit on Trump condo sales
Trump International Hotel & Tower. Photo by Erik Unger
(Crain's) — In the end, being one of Donald Trump's "friends and family" turned out well for David Radler, the former Chicago Sun-Times publisher and federal inmate.
Companies with ties to Mr. Radler and his two daughters pocketed a hefty profit after selling two adjoining condominiums in the Trump International Hotel & Tower, the 92-story skyscraper on the former site of the Sun-Times.
In the pricier deal, a Radler entity sold a three-bedroom condo on the 41st floor, along with two parking spaces, for $2.3 million in November after paying $1.8 million for the unit in September 2008, property records show.
Flipping condos for a profit has become next to impossible amid a downtown condo glut, but Mr. Radler and his daughters had an advantage: They were one of a few dozen buyers in Mr. Trump's "friends and family" program launched before construction began in 2003, allowing them to sign contracts to purchase condos at a discount.
Mr. Trump tried to tear up the contracts and jack up their prices a few years later, prompting howls of protest from friends-and-family buyers. The complainers included the Radlers, who sued the project for breach of contract and fraud in January 2008. The two sides settled about five months later, declining to disclose terms.
Related story: Trump, former Sun-Times publisher settle
Though the settlement was confidential, the lawsuit and property records indicate that Mr. Trump backed down in the Radler case. The original contract price on the three-bedroom unit was $1.71 million, slightly less than the $1.80-million sale price.
The original contract price on the smaller condo next door was $687,995, according to the complaint. A company with ties to Mr. Radler's daughters, Melanie and Melissa Radler, closed on the unit for $687,000 in September 2008 and sold it five months later for $975,000, a 42% gain.
Mr. Radler, then president and chief operating officer of Sun-Times parent Hollinger International Inc., negotiated the joint-venture deal with Mr. Trump in 2001 to build the condo-and-hotel project at 401 N. Wabash Ave. He went to prison in February 2008 after being convicted for his role in a scheme to loot millions of dollars from the Chicago-based media company.
Mr. Radler was released on parole in December 2008 and now runs Alberta Newspaper Group Inc., a Vancouver-based publisher.
Mr. Radler did not return phone calls for comment. Attempts to reach his daughters were unsuccessful. Mr. Trump's assistant did not respond to an interview request.
Though the Radlers turned a handsome profit on their Trump investment, they had higher price expectations, originally listing the three-bedroom unit for $3.9 million.
Still, they made out better than most Trump condo buyers in the resale market, who have broken even on their investments or sold for a small loss including commissions and other transaction costs, says Andrew Glatz, managing broker of Crown Heights Realty, a Chicago-based brokerage with units in the building.
"The friends and family are the only ones who did okay in this building so far," he says.
