Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Helipad to Be Removed

Former President Donald Trump is soon to lose yet another perk of his presidency. After officially departing the White House for the final time on Jan. 20 as his successor, President Joe Biden, prepared for his inauguration, and heading to Florida with wife Melania Trump, a helipad at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach is set to be demolished.

According to the Palm Beach Daily News, a permit was pulled Tuesday to tear down the helipad at the club, which was installed in 2017 for Trump to use during his time in office. While it remains unclear when the helipad will be removed, as it was still intact as of Wednesday afternoon, Lake Park-based contractor Pyramid Builders of Palm Beach has been hired for the job. Removing the helipad will cost an estimated $15,000, the outlet noted.

Stretching 50 feet in length and measuring 8 inches deep, the helipad was constructed in February 2017 on the west lawn of Mar-a-Lago, closer to the Intracoastal Waterway. Palm Beach initially did not allow helipads, though the city made an exception for the president in order to prevent traffic buildup along Southern Boulevard, with the helipad instead allowing the president to travel to and from Palm Beach International Airport to Mar-a-Lago by helicopter rather than car. Under the exception, the helipad was only to be used for business related to the executive office and would then be removed once Trump left office. Within “the past few weeks,” according to Town Manager Kirk Blouin, representatives for the club had inquired about permits to remove the helipad.

“It seems to have been more controversial in media reports than it is in actual practice. They never made a request to keep it,” Blouin said, with own Council President Maggie Zeidman telling the Daily News that “it appears they are acting in good faith and living up their end of the bargain because they have taken the first step” to getting the helipad removed.

Removal of the helipad comes as Trump moves to make Mar-a-Lago his permanent residence, which has been met with some resistance from neighbors. According to the Independent, the former president signed an agreement in 1993 allowing the former president to convert the property into a for-profit club. That “special exception use” permit, according to residents, prevented anyone from staying there for longer than a week or more than three times a year. Town attorney John “Skip” Randolph, who completed a legal review on behalf of Palm Beach, said the agreement does not prohibit Trump from residing there.