Draft:Jason Grosfeld

Early career

Grosfeld started out as an analyst at BlackRock, where his father served as a director. He then spent three years at HPB Associates, a New York-based hedge fund focused on real estate investment trusts (REITs).^[5]

Irongate

In the early 2000s, Grosfeld founded Irongate—legally registered as Martell Capital Group LLC—a luxury real estate investment and development firm headquartered in Los Angeles.^[1] The company has built properties in California, Colorado, Hawaii, and Mexico alongside international hospitality brands.^[2][3]

Hawaii

In 2006, Irongate partnered with The Trump Organization to develop the Trump International Hotel and Tower Waikiki Beach Walk in Honolulu, Hawaii.^[6] The project reportedly recorded 700 million United States dollars in condominium sales in a single day.^[4] Irongate also developed The Watermark and the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Waikiki.^[4]

In November 2023, Irongate reached an agreement with The Trump Organization to end the Trump licensing arrangement at the Waikiki property. The hotel was rebranded as Ka Laʻi Waikiki Beach under Hilton's LXR Hotels and Resorts brand on February 7, 2024, with a planned 100 million United States dollar renovation led by Irongate.^[7]

Costa Palmas

In 2014, Irongate acquired roughly 1,000 acres on the East Cape of Baja California Sur. The site, formerly known as Cabo Riviera, was redeveloped as Costa Palmas, a luxury resort community along the Gulf of California with three kilometers of beachfront.^[8][2]

The development includes the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Los Cabos, which opened October 1, 2019, with 141 rooms and 23 suites, designed by Guerin Glass Architects.^[8] The forthcoming Amanvari Resort will be the first Aman property in Mexico. The complex also has an 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones II and a deep-water marina. The Financial Times reported that the development includes 14 acres of orchards and organic farms, with plans to expand to 18 acres.^[2]

Aspen

Through the entity 210 EH Investments, Grosfeld is developing Chalet Alpina—formerly Lift One Lodge—at the base of Aspen Mountain in Aspen, Colorado, alongside local firm HayMax Capital. The project, approved by local vote in 2019, is part of the broader Lift One corridor redevelopment.^[9]

Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico

In September 2006, Irongate and Donald Trump announced the Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico, a 525-condominium luxury complex on 17 oceanfront acres in Tijuana, Baja California.^[10] Around 250 buyers put down deposits totaling 32.5 million United States dollars, at a required 30 percent down payment. Marketing materials cast Trump as a co-developer, though he had only licensed his name to the project; in December 2008, PB Impulsores—Irongate's Mexican subsidiary—told buyers that Trump "did not invest in the project and had no role in its management".^[1]

The development collapsed in 2009 unfinished. A financial statement given to buyers showed total spending of 45.3 million United States dollars: 8.7 million on marketing, 8.3 million on land acquisition, and 6.9 million on architecture and engineering.^[1] Trump pulled his name from the project and sued Grosfeld and co-developer Adam Fisher for 40 million United States dollars.^[11]

Dozens of buyers sued over alleged fraud and misuse of funds; by the end of the litigation, roughly 200 plaintiffs were represented. In 2013, Irongate and Grosfeld settled for 7.25 million United States dollars without admitting liability. Trump reached a separate confidential settlement in November of that year.^[12][13]

In 2016, former Mexican congressman Jaime Martínez Veloz filed a criminal complaint for tax evasion tied to the funds collected; in January 2017, he expanded it to allege that Trump had violated Mexican law on foreign property ownership in border zones.^[14][15]

Buyer litigation at Costa Palmas

From 2023 onward, several Costa Palmas buyers sued Grosfeld, Irongate, and company executives in United States courts. GS 1975 LLC filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court (case 23STCV06016), and TRG CP, LLC filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California (case 2:23-cv-00341). Both complaints alleged cost overruns, construction delays, and failure to deliver finished properties, among other claims.^[3]

Irongate's Mexican subsidiary, Desarrolladora La Ribera S. de R.L. de C.V., filed a defamation counterclaim in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (case 24-CV-67) against the buyers and public relations firm 5W Public Relations. The court referred part of the dispute to arbitration in Mexico.^[16]

As of early 2026, the litigation remains ongoing and no court has determined liability.

Environmental concerns

A May 2024 investigation by Hakai Magazine documented damage to wetlands and mangrove habitats in the East Cape region tied to the Costa Palmas development. The report described a 5.7-kilometer stone wall built to protect the golf courses that diverted water from the aquifer supplying the town of La Ribera, and found that the golf course used the daily water equivalent of 9,000 residents.^[17] The Sierra Club has raised similar concerns about the development's footprint along the Baja California Peninsula coast.^[18]

In a 2019 Financial Times interview, Grosfeld said he wanted Costa Palmas to be "the most environmentally friendly tourism development in North America", adding that the project would include 60 percent fewer rooms than originally approved.^[2]