Even Donald Trump’s schedule creates a stir.
The New York real-estate tycoon is set to speak this afternoon at the highly publicized Bixpo 2005 business expo in Loveland. But he also was pitched the idea of a tour today of Denver’s Union Station.
The Loveland conference is on. But the Denver tour won’t happen, says Norma Foerderer, vice president of media relations for the Trump Organization.
“It was supposed to be a very quiet visit to Union Station if his schedule would permit it,” said a member of Trump’s Union Station team, Denver developer Odell Barry. The historic station is the site of a proposed billion- dollar redevelopment project for which Trump and 10 other groups are vying.
But the possibility of a tour didn’t stay quiet for long.
A couple of phone calls from Barry fueled speculation.
Among the people called was Maria Garcia Berry, a prominent public-relations professional representing the Union Station ownership group, which includes Denver, the Regional Transportation District, Denver Regional Council of Governments and the state Department of Transportation.
“My immediate reaction is all these four agencies are in a selection process,” Berry said. “How are they going to show up for a tour with one of the bidders?”
Two Denver councilwomen, Elbra Wedgeworth and Judy Montero, also questioned the propriety of a tour with a potential bidder.
“I don’t think it would be legally appropriate for us to give him any kind of a tour because it’s in the RFQ (request for qualifications) process,” Wedgeworth said. “If we did it for him, we’d have to do it for everybody.”
Montero said that if she were to do a tour, she would want the media present.
