New York: The US Secret Service is in talks with the Trump Organisation to take over two vacant floors at the cost of millions in the gilded 68-storey Trump Tower where the President-elect's wife Melania and their 10-year-old son will continue to live through the spring, a media report said.
The federal agency and the New York Police Department plan to run a 24/7 command post out of the space that would be housed at least 40 floors below Trump's USD 90 million penthouse triplex, where Melania and their son Barron Melania will continue to reside at least through the spring, the New York Post reported, citing sources.
The Secret Service is eyeing two contiguous floors for over 250 agents and cops, sources said.
The first 26 floors of the glass-clad skyscraper are commercial tenants while the remaining levels are apartments. The Post earlier reported that the 17th floor at Trump
Tower is available. The floor is currently being marketed in three, 3,000- to 5,000-square-foot parcels at up to USD 105 per square foot.
"At that rate the federal government would be paying USD 1.5 million a year for just one floor and double that for two levels of Trump Tower offices," the paper said.
The ready-to-rent 17th floor includes six large south-facing outdoor terraces, private elevators, polished concrete floors but no brass, it said.
It said the 15th floor may also be available. The Trump Campaign operated mainly out of that level plus other areas, paying USD 169,000-a-month for rent and utilities, according to the Federal Election Commission.
The Secret Service must protect the president and his family wherever they go, including visits back to their permanent homes.
"Taxpayers would be paying the president-elect's own corporation to lease the two floors, aside from the cost of agents, staff and equipment and barriers that are normal in such cases," it said.
The lease deal alone could cost more than USD 3 million a year, based on prevailing rates in the building.
Represenatives for the Trump Organization and the Secret Service did not return messages seeking comment, it said. The marble-lobbied building is home to art dealer Helly Nahmad and Trump?s former campaign manager Paul Manafort. Past residents include Michael Jackson, Liberace and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
