About a year ago, Donald Trump graced Tampa Bay with his Trump Tower Tampa condo project. The coming of The Donald and his real estate machinations brought hopes of high-roller cache for the Bay, which were foretold by a touch of national exposure over the announcement.

So, where’s that vision/eyesore (depending on your perspective) on the Channelside horizon? The land’s been cleared, but Trump’s tower has yet to start ascending skyward, allegedly owing to the mogul’s too-tight scheduling. At this rate, it’s possible the building won’t be ready to open until after 2008.

That the Tampa project isn’t on a fast-track sort of underlines how much Trump’s association with this, just another luxury high-rise among many in the area, is mostly just in name only. The only thing that makes this endeavour stand out is the brand identity that Trump lends it. That’s why it sold out as quickly as it did (to mostly local buyers, it should be noted). Now that the units have been pre-sold, there’s no particular pressure to start pouring the concrete. And despite the other condos being built in the area, there’s no comparable designer-label competition for the same kind of money. So it gets built whenever.

I hope it’s worth the wait for the prospective tenants. I wonder how their attitudes might be adjusted if, for whatever reason, Trump decides to remove his name from the project?