The Gold Coast is known for its theme parks and beaches, but it may also become home to a new landmark attraction: Australia’s first “Trump Tower”.

The US President’s family reportedly plans to build a tower on the Surfers Paradise esplanade ­­– complete with a “big gold Donald Trump” emblazoned on it.

The Gold Coast Bulletin said the skyscraper is earmarked for a site on Trickett Street that recently sold, and that council planners are aware of the project.

It quoted a source who said a development application had not yet been received, but that they had seen plans that included renders.

“And they have a gold Donald Trump on it,” the source told the newspaper. “Every Trump hotel has a big gold Donald Trump on it, and this one will be the same.

“It’s nothing new, in it’s not the first time this property has had Trump interest. It’s the same developer. It’s the Trump Tower.”

The Trickett Street site was previously home to the 20-storey Iluka Resort, which was demolished more than a decade ago. A residential skyscraper was approved in 2015 to replace it, but never went ahead.

Asked her thoughts on the idea of a Trump Tower during an appearance on Seven’s Today Show on Friday, Liberal MP Zoe McKenzie said she welcomed all investment from the United States ­– and even suggested that the Trump family should extend its ambitions further.

“This could make a real addition to the landscape on Surfers Paradise…,” McKenzie said, adding that she had stayed at the Iluka Resort as a child.

“But I wouldn’t want him to stop just at that site, because we’ve got a couple of islands that could be Trump Island.

“So you’ve got Dunk Island, that’s sitting there undeveloped, Keppel Island, Lindeman Island, all have suffered from cyclones and haven’t been rebuilt, so I say, ‘Look at the islands while you’re at it, Mr Trump’.”

According to the Bulletin, plans were previously flagged to build a Trump Tower on the Gold Coast almost 20 years ago. For the latest plans, an Australian developer is said to be partnering with the Trump family.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate, who wrote a letter to the US President last year to put the Gold Coast on his radar, said he could not say who the parties interested in the former Iluka Resort site might be, but the sky was the limit.

“Everyone knows that I love Donald Trump,” he told Nine News, adding: “It (the tower) would be quite prominent.”

If the mooted new development does go ahead, the building would share its name with the famous 58-storey Trump Tower in New York’s Manhattan.

The response on social media has so far been less-than-positive, however, with one wit suggesting Australia will need to put tariffs on all the building materials.