Ordinarily a building of that height could not have been built on the small site. By mixing uses (retail, office, and residential), constructing a through-block arcade (connecting to the IBM building to the east), and using the air rights from Tiffany’s flagship store next door, and including the atrium, which was designed as a “public space” under the city codes at the time, Trump was able to assemble a bonus package that enabled a taller tower.
The building’s public spaces are clad in Breccia Pernice, a pink white-veined marble. Mirrors and brass are used throughout. This includes the office lobby, off Fifth Avenue, and the five-level atrium which has a waterfall, shops, cafés, and a pedestrian bridge that crosses over the waterfall’s pool. The atrium is crowned with a skylight. In 2006, Forbes Magazine valued the tower at $318 million. Trump Tower was the setting of the NBC television show The Apprentice including the famous boardroom where at least one person was fired at the end of each episode; the boardroom is actually a television studio set inside Trump Tower