Trump dumps Tampa tower

New York tycoon Donald Trump formally cut his ties to Trump Tower Tampa by agreeing to a mediation deal Monday with former Tampa business partner SimDag-Robel LLC.

Neither side got everything it wanted. Trump sued in May 2007 to recover more than $2-million in licensing fees SimDag was supposed to pay for the right to use Trump's name on the 52-story condo project.

SimDag launched a counter suit accusing Trump of breaching a long-standing confidentiality agreement by going public with his complaints against SimDag.

The tower was planned in 2005 as the biggest skyscraper in west-central Florida, but couldn't get a $200-million loan in the Florida condo glut. SimDag filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June.

“It’s really off the drawing boards right now. That’s the economic reality of what’s happened,’’ SimDag's bankruptcy lawyer Jeffery Warren said of the tower.

“If SimDag wants to use the Trump brand again they'll need a new agreement,’’ Warren added.

Though the Tower deal is dead, SimDag is resisting an immediate sale of its 1.5-acre Tampa riverfront lot at 111 S. Ashley Drive. It prefers waiting until the real estate market improves to get a better price.

The mediation settlement, hammered out Monday by Trump's New York attorney Bernard Diamond, still needs ratification by SimDag's bankruptcy judge.