a two-acre site at 551 North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, would include 298 units. The project, considered essential in transforming the beach area into an upper-class tourist destination, was unanimously approved by the Fort Lauderdale commission on February 15, 2005. By that time, the Gold Coast/Merrimac hotel had been gutted to prepare for the new project. Construction was initially scheduled to begin in April 2005, with completion scheduled for 2007. Construction began in July 2005. The tower was expected to cost $200 million. Stiles Construction Company was the project's general contractor. A construction worker was killed on June 13, 2006, when steel scaffolding collapsed on him. By that time, the hotel had been scheduled to open in 2008. In December 2006, Corus Bankshares provided a $139 million construction loan to the project. Another construction accident occurred in January 2007, when a flagman for the site had his legs run over by a cement truck. Financial issues and lawsuits In October 2007, Trump expressed confidence in the Trump International project despite putting a second, nearby condo-hotel project on hold due to poor real estate conditions. Trump International was ultimately planned to open in 2009. The project had deposits on 70 percent of its units, but following the poor real estate market, many buyers eventually lost interest in the project or were among those who would eventually file lawsuits against it. Bayrock Group ultimately sold its interest in the project to an Icelandic firm. In May 2009, investors were informed that they had to complete their unit purchases that month. The developer, known then as SB Hotel Associates LLC, stated that the project would likely remain unfinished if less than half of the units were purchased. Buyers were also informed that because of local zoning rules for condo-hotels, they could not occupy their units unless the entire hotel opened. By that time, various lawsuits had been filed by 30 buyers who wanted refunds on their 20-percent deposits. The lawsuits alleged misleading advertising, with buyers stating that they were misled into believing that Trump's involvement in the project was fully confirmed. However, sales contracts, which referred to the project as the SB Fort Lauderdale Hotel & Condominium, stated that Trump had the right to end the licensing deal and remove his name from the project. Additionally, it was alleged that the marketing materials suggested Trump was a developer in the project, including a