Former US President Donald Trump did not only step out of the White House, but his name was also officially erased from a West Palm Beach condominium unit with his infamous surname on it.
After years of protest, residents of the Trump Plaza Palm Beach condominium unanimously agreed to drop Trump's last name on the building after the US Capitol siege on January 6, 2020.
According to the Associated Press, board members of the Florida-based condominium agreed to change the name of the 32-story building legally, and they will have a month to propose a new name for the establishment.
Attempts to "Impeach" Trump's Name
Before Trump bought the unit in the late 1980s, the twin-tower complex found a few miles away from the ex-POTUS' Mar-a-Lago private club and estate was initially known as "The Plaza."
In an interview with The Palm Beach Post, an anonymous resident of the Trump Plaza said that most of the unity owners were relieved that the name will finally be dropped off the building.
According to reports, condominium owners have been working on removing Trump's name on the building for the past four years now. It is the Trump Plaza board members' third attempt to distance themselves from the former President.
During the 2017 renovation of the building along 525 and 529 Flagler Drive, the board already made the first move to erase the name on the property's roof. When the building makeover wrapped up in 2020, residents voted not to put back Trump's name on the roofing.
The eagerness to take out the well-known surname increased after George Floyd's death in May 2020. While protesters are supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, residents of the Trump Plaza decided to remove his name from the front entrance.
The Trump Brand
While the building has carried over Trump's name for the past 30 years, the former business mogul gave up the real estate ownership in 1991 after unsuccessfully sold units and made a profit. Trump ended up turning over the condo complex to his lenders, minus any personal guarantee.
The new owners retained Trump's name in the hopes of attracting new buyers. When Trump became negatively famous after the 2016 election, more buyers reject the opportunity to acquire units in the building, which currently ranges from $1.09 to $4.59 million.
Meanwhile, real estate agent Burt Minkoff told AP that rebranding the building is a wise move for the complex owner and residents due to the Trump brand damage. He added that the recent Capitol attack made the name "a real lightning rod."
Other real estate agents agreed that distancing from the Trump brand is not only suitable for the condominium's sale factor but also the saleability of other West Palm Beach units.
Tim Frater shared with Inman how one of his prospective clients viewing a nearby property freaked out upon seeing the vast Trump sign on the building across the unit.
"But I can tell you when Trump was first elected, I was showing a unit in a neighboring building, and from the balcony of the unit she was interested in, you could see the Trump name on the building," Frater said.
"It freaked her out so bad that she didn't even want to live in downtown West Palm Beach," he added.
