Elsewhere: Heading Upwards

But their strategies differ in one big way: Mr. Trump is betting that an extra touch of luxury will entice buyers to pay more than twice as much for units in the 70-story Trump International Hotel & Tower, Toronto. The structure of stone, steel and glass will be capped by an "articulated spire," evoking a "classic Manhattan skyscraper," the developers say.

Mr. Trump's local rival doubts that Canadians will be smitten by the plush surroundings. "I admire Donald's marketing expertise, but this ain't New York. Canadians are cheap," says Mr. Stinson, whose 81-story Sapphire Tower would be just down the street from the Trump complex.

Barry Landsberg, the director of marketing for the Trump project, disagreed, saying Canadians will pay extra for "quality and value" but concedes they are "cautious and moderately risk averse" and will likely wait for others to buy before they do.

Both projects face another challenge: there's a good chance the city will be awash in condos by the time either tower is finished. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the country's national housing agency, estimates that just under 25,000 condominium apartments are currently under construction in Toronto and many of those will be completed this year and next. While 80% to 90% of those units are presold, some buyers might be planning to resell their units as soon as they are completed, says Ted Tsiakopoulos, senior market analyst at Canada Mortgage and Housing. "Clearly supply will continue growing, [but] sales will likely not match that growth," he says.

After booming for the past four years, Toronto's real-estate market is showing signs of leveling off, with properties taking longer to sell and prices rising at a slower rate. Much of the pent-up demand for housing that resulted from a deep slump in the early 1990s has been met, and interest rates have bottomed out. "I would say the party is over, but the lights are not off," says Benjamin Tal, senior economist at CIBC World Markets.

The average condominium resale price in the greater Toronto area rose 3.5% last year to about 218,000 Canadian dollars (US$175,622). Average prices are expected to rise 1% this year, the CMHC predicts. Average prices are for varying condo sizes.

That's a long way from the prices for the Trump condos, which range from US$533,311 for a 570-square-foot furnished studio to US$11.3 million for the three-level, 7,000-square-foot penthouse. The pricier upper-story units, which start at about US$1.3 million for a 2,226-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment, are traditional condominiums, but owners would have access to the hotel's amenities for additional fees. Construction is set to begin this year and Trump Organization would manage the hotel as well as the residences.

Harry Stinson, a prominent condo developer in Toronto, has also faced his share of skeptics in the local establishment. For example, he has never relied on the country's major banks -- all with headquarters within a few blocks of the two planned towers -- to finance his projects. His company, Stinson Properties, has been turned away by lenders who didn't believe his ideas were right at various times. "They always think I'm out to lunch, and what I am doing is ahead of, or behind, the times," says the 51-year-old former real-estate broker.

Mr. Stinson's Sapphire Tower, which consists of two connected cylinders sheathed in blue glass and capped with a sphere, would include a spa, restaurant and meeting rooms -- albeit on a smaller scale than the Trump version. Construction is set to begin in September and is expected to take about two years to complete. So far, 150 of the 900 units have been sold. The Sapphire's prices range from US$161,121 to US$201,401 for a 300-to-500 square foot unit to US$5.6 million for a select number of customized full-floor, 7,000-square-feet penthouses.

Mr. Stinson says he hopes the Trump project pans out along with the Sapphire because both would give Toronto "a little bit of extra panache."

Currently, Mr. Stinson is close to completing a 51-story luxury hotel/condo building called One King West, a short walk from the planned Sapphire Tower. Financing for both buildings is coming from investors rather than banks, and 95% of the units have been sold.

Despite Mr. Stinson's high profile in Toronto, no one would ever call him Canada's Donald Trump. He dresses casually and lives with his wife and young daughter in a small condo in downtown Toronto. "I am not Donald Trump; I do not live in a ... golden-encrusted penthouse," says Mr. Stinson, who will move into a larger condo in his One King West project.

The battle over who is building the biggest building began when Mr. Trump laid claim to the title when he started marketing his building, which is expected to top out at 1,064 feet. "It's been in our marketing ever since," says Mr. Landsberg. He says Mr. Stinson is following Mr. Trump's lead. "Being the highest or competing to be the highest is something that Stinson has used in his marketing," he says.

Mr. Stinson, whose building is slated to be eight feet shorter than Mr. Trump's, says he has not focused on the height issue. The other side "is constantly drumming away at it," he says.

So far, Mr. Trump doesn't have much of a track record in Toronto. His first attempt to bring a luxury condominium/hotel tower to the city fizzled. In 2001, he teamed up with a local developer on a US$265.9 million hotel/residence project that was to be managed by Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. and bear its name. But Ritz-Carlton pulled out of the project in 2002, reportedly because of problems with one of Mr. Trump's local partners.

This time Mr. Trump has teamed up with Talon International Development Inc., a Canadian investment company that holds a controlling interest in the planned 70-story, US$402.8 million Trump project. The Trump Organization has a minority stake, but project officials declined to disclose the size of the stake or to say whether Trump is investing any cash.

"False starts are never good," acknowledged Russell Flicker, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, of the failed earlier attempt to build on the Toronto site. "But this project has been redeveloped ... so it's not the same project as it was before," he says.

What's more, Mr. Trump's hit television show, "The Apprentice," has made his name more recognizable than ever up north. The show has garnered far more attention in Canada than the struggles of his Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc., which is trying to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy-court protection.