Trump Tower a 'beacon' of controversy in Vancouver as grand opening nears

When developer Joo Kim Tiah announced in 2013 that his spiralling skyscraper project inVancouverwould bear DonaldTrump's name, the main controversy was whether the glitzy luxury hotel was at odds with the city's reputation as a home of casual yoga-pants-wearing types.

A lot has changed since then.

Vancouver'sTrumpInternational Hotel and Tower has transformed into a potent symbol ofTrump's candidacy and presidency, observers say. Protests over U.S. policy inevitably end up on its doorstep and provincial and city politicians have said theTrumpname doesn't representVancouver.

"It's more than a beacon of racism,'' said Coun. Kerry Jang, who has urged the developer to drop theTrumpbrand. "It's a beacon of intolerance. It's a beacon of sexism and bullying. That's just notVancouver.''

The $360-million hotel and condominium development, with a unique twisting design by late architect Arthur Erickson, had a soft launch last month. Protests are being planned on social media to greetTrump's sons, DonaldTrumpJr. and EricTrump, at the grand opening Feb. 28.

Tiah, the president and CEO of Holborn Group, is the son of one of Malaysia's wealthiest businessmen. TheTrumpOrganization does not own the tower, but licensed its name for branding and marketing, while theTrumpHotel Collection operates the 147-room hotel.

The building's more than 200 condominium units sold out last year, the National Post reported. Tiah told the newspaper in November that the media had a "vendetta'' against the U.S. president and rejected suggestions that theTrumpbrand had taken a hit.

But inVancouver, known for its multiculturalism and progressive politics,Trump's anti-immigrant rhetoric has given the tower an uneasy place in the city's skyline.

AfterTrump's call in 2015 for a "complete shutdown'' of Muslims entering the U.S., a petition urging Holborn Group to dump theTrumpname attracted 56,000 signatures. Mayor Gregor Robertson joined the chorus of residents in a passionate letter to Tiah in December 2015.

"Trump's name and brand have no more place onVancouver's skyline than his ignorant ideas have in the modern world,'' Robertson wrote.

Also in December 2015, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark said it was up to the city and the developer to decide whether to drop the brand, but she agreed the name doesn't representVancouver, adding she didn't thinkTrumpwould be "good business'' in Canada for much longer.

Tiah was unavailable for an interview, but told the Post that removing theTrumpname would have led to "enormous financial and legal ramifications.'' Talk Shop Media, which handles media relations for the opening of the tower, did not return requests for comment.

Lindsay Meredith, a marketing professor at Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business, said the hotel is aimed at high-income business people, who tend to be well-educated and more likely to be offended byTrump's comments and policies.

"It doesn't take much to kick that kind of clientele into the arms of yet another high-end luxury establishment,'' he said.

Hundreds marched past the tower in a raucous protest afterTrump's election in November as well as during last month's Women's March. Someone briefly changed its name to Dump Tower on Google Maps.

• Trump's sons to attend grand opening of Vancouver tower
• Women's March Vancouver draws huge crowds