MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Donald Trump made an appearance at a Mooresville country club Wednesday evening in his final push to buy the property.
The real estate mogul and NBC reality star spoke at a members-only town hall meeting at The Point Lake and Golf Club. The meeting was closed to the media.
Trump has a deal in the works with Crescent Communities, the current owners, to purchase the property. But before Trump can seal the deal, the members must vote in favor of the sale.
Hundreds of residents showed up to the town hall. Many had questions about the changes Trump intends to make and how those changes will affect their home value or fees.
We are just kind of in the dark right now. We received this 57-page plan yesterday. That isn t enough time to read through it and understand it, said The Point member Alan Boyce. My fees might not go up immediately but I know they will go up.
The billionaire originally tried to purchase The Point in 2009 but that deal fizzled after Trump said neither Crescent nor the residents seemed certain about the move. His tune was different this time around.
Trump spoke exclusively with NewsChannel 36 on his private plane after the meeting with members.
We got along very well. Standing ovations, said Trump as he boarded his private Boeing 757. This is going to be spectacular. This is a big job. The Point is going to be special. The premier community in Charlotte.
When asked about residents fears over increasing fees and due, Trump said After tonight s meeting I think their fears have been put to rest.
Trump said he wants to bring the club to a much higher level. A really wonderful level and a level where everyone is going to be happy. We liked it for a really long time and they ve liked us for a long time. So I think we re down to final strokes.
The Point is not the only property Trump has had his eye on in Charlotte.
I decided a few years ago not to do an office building in Charlotte. I made a great decision because the market crashed. So that was a wise decision, Trump said.
He had talked about building the tallest building in uptown. But that fell through in 2008.
About four years ago we were going to do a major office building here and I decided not to do it because I didn t like what was going on with the world and with the economy and just generally with the market. Had we built that, millions of dollars would have been lost. But I didn t do it, Trump said with a smile as he pointed to his head.
The Point members have until roughly the end of March to vote on Trump's proposal.
We re going to make this really spectacular, Trump said. This is a big job. The Point is going to be something special.
Trump said he'd like to call the club Trump National Golf Club Charlotte. I think that (it) will be really the absolute top community, the premier community. That s why we re doing it.
