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Donald Trump's negotiations with a Los Angeles-based investment firm to provide financing for the long-delayed Riverside South project have run aground.
In December, Colony Capital Inc. acknowledged that it had agreed to buy the Chase Manhattan Bank debt on the Penn Yards site and finance the first stage of development. But knowledgeable sources say those talks have fizzled-possibly because Mr. Trump feels he can get a better deal from a different financing source.
Spokesmen for Chase Manhattan and the Trump Organization declined comment on the talks. A spokeswoman for Colony denied that they were imperiled. "They've hit a few glitches that have been resolved," she says. "They're very much alive."
Reports of the negotiations' demise come at a time that Mr. Trump is maneuvering to prevent a bank group led by Citibank from selling another of his prime New York assets, the Plaza Hotel. The bank group, which is the general partner in the hotel, has hired Jones Lang Wootton USA to evaluate sales offers and prepare a marketing plan. But Mr. Trump is reportedly trying to scare off buyers by warning that he will exercise the "right of first refusal" he has if a deal nears fruition.
Mr. Trump's strategies on Riverside South and the Plaza are just the latest signs of the flamboyant developer's revival after being near financial ruin four years ago. Emboldened by the improvement of his Atlantic City casino operations, Mr. Trump is beginning to re-exhibit his brashness and arrogance.
But on closer scrutiny, it appears Mr. Trump is on...