How to Make It In Commercial Real Estate

Larry A. Silverstein is the Chairman of Silverstein Properties, a Manhattan-based real estate development and investment firm that has developed, owned and managed 40 million square feet of office, residential, hotel and retail space. The firm currently has $10 billion worth of development activity underway, and has been recognized as one of the “Best Places to Work in New York City” by Crain’s New York Business for eight years in a row. In July 2001, Mr. Silverstein completed the largest real estate transaction in New York history when he signed a 99-year lease on the 10.6 million square feet World Trade Center for $3.25 billion, only to see it destroyed in terrorist attacks six weeks later on September 11, 2001. He has spent the last 20 years rebuilding the office component of the World Trade Center site, a $30 billion project that will consume the balance of his working life. In May 2006, Silverstein Properties opened 7 World Trade Center, the first office tower to be rebuilt at the site, and the first LEED-certified office building in New York City. The 52-story, 1.7 million square foot office tower is fully leased to an eclectic group of tenants. In November 2013, the company opened 4 World Trade Center, a 72-story 2.3 million square foot building designed by Fumihiko Maki. In June 2018, the company opened 3 World Trade Center, an 80-story, 2.5 million square foot building designed by Richard Rogers. The company is developing one other office tower on the WTC site – 2 World Trade Center, and a residential tower – 5 World Trade Center. Silverstein Properties recently completed and opened a Four Seasons hotel and private residences designed by Robert A. M. Stern in Lower Manhattan which, at 82-stories, is one of the tallest residential towers in New York. The company also completed and opened the largest Four Seasons resort in the world at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Silverstein owns and manages many successful and high-profile commercial and residential properties in New York City, including 120 Broadway, 120 Wall Street, 529 Fifth Avenue and 1177 Avenue of the Americas. Mr. Silverstein completed and opened Silver Towers, two 60-story residential towers at 600 West 42nd Street, the companion to 1River Place, a 40-story, 921-unit tower which opened in 2000. The square block development houses over 2,200 families. Mr. Silverstein is a member of the New York Bar and a Governor of the Real Estate Board of New York, having served as its Chairman. He has served as Chairman of the Realty Foundation of New York. A 1952 graduate of New York University, Mr. Silverstein served as Vice Chairman of the NYU Board of Trustees, where he continues to serve as member of the Board of Trustees of the New York University Langone Medical Center. He is the Founder and Chairman emeritus of the advisory board of the NYU Real Estate Institute. As a Professor of Real Estate, his “Silverstein Workshop” became one of the most attended and informative educational sources for learning real estate development and investment analysis. Mr. Silverstein donates his time and resources to support many philanthropic endeavors. He has served as Chairman of the Board of UJA-Federation. He is a founding trustee of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York and has served as treasurer of National Jewish Health in Denver. Mr. Silverstein contributes his time and resources to organizations that are dedicated to higher education and medical research, meeting humanitarian needs and supporting the arts. Mr. Silverstein currently serves as a board member of the New York Philharmonic. He is a classical music enthusiast, a passionate yachtsman and a dedicated New Yorker. Larry and Klara Silverstein have been married for 65 years and have three children and one son-in-law, three of whom are executives at Silverstein Properties, and they also have eight grandchildren.

Francis Greenburger is the founder, chairman, chief executive officer and guiding force behind Time Equities, Inc. Founded in 1966, Time Equities, Inc. (TEI) has been in the real estate investment, development and asset & property management business for more than 50 years. TEI currently holds in its own portfolio approximately 32.4 million square feet of residential, industrial, office and retail property – including more than 4,000 multi-family apartment units. In addition, TEI is in various stages of development and pre-development of constructing approximately 1.4 million square feet of various property types which includes at least 1,447 residential units. With properties in 30 states, five Canadian provinces, Germany, the Netherlands, and Anguilla, the TEI portfolio benefits from a diversity of property types, sizes and markets. There are concentrations in the Northeast, Southwest, Midwest and West Coast, and new markets are always being evaluated. Mr. Greenburger is well known throughout the real estate industry for his ability to anticipate real estate trends and changing market conditions. TEI was a market leader in the cooperative conversion business in New York City, having converted over 100 buildings including over 10,000 units. More recently, TEI took the lead in the conversion of obsolete office buildings into residential apartments in New York’s Wall Street area. Building on our expertise in new residential construction and re-positioning, TEI is currently working on or has recently completed several development projects in Downtown Brooklyn, Manhattan, Long Island, Jersey City, NJ, Seattle, Washington, Chicago, Illinois and Toronto, Canada. Taking advantage of under-recognized opportunities has been the hallmark of the TEI strategy and a major component of its success. Mr. Greenburger also has a passion for the arts. He is the founder and principal benefactor of Omi International Arts Center, a 27 year-old not-for-profit arts colony and educational center which hosts residency programs for visual artists, writers, dancers, musicians, and architects from all over the world; as well as a renowned sculpture park which is open to the public on a 300-acre property in Ghent, New York just south of Albany. Mr. Greenburger himself is an art collector (his office is a virtual gallery) and he owns over 500 contemporary paintings and sculptures. He was awarded the insignia of chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government because of his commitment to the arts and his founding of the Omi International Arts Center. In addition, Mr. Greenburger is the Chairman of S.J. Greenburger Associates, Inc., a literary agency founded by his father 86 years ago, representing many world renowned and best selling authors including Dan Brown, Brad Thor, Daniel Amen, Patrick Rothfuss, Robin Preiss Glasser, and Rosemary Wells. Most recently, Mr. Greenburger founded the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, which advocates for reforms to the criminal justice system, in 2014. In the capacity of the Founder and President of the organization, Mr. Greenburger serves as President of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the Executive Committee and is an Ex. Officio member of all other board committees. Mr. Greenburger guides the Center’s policy and advocacy efforts to ensure that the agency’s actions are in line with its mission, through weekly meetings with the Center’s Executive Director. He also reviews annual budgets, audits and financial statements and approves all expenditures over $1000. Mr. Greenburger is also a very active board member of several not-for-profit organizations: Alliance for Downtown New York, Baruch Real Estate Advisory Board for the Department of Real Estate, Lavigny Writer’s Residency, Lincoln Center – Real Estate and Construction Council, Little Red Schoolhouse/Elizabeth Irwin High School Board of Trustees, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, MASS MoCA (contemporary art museum), Michael Wolk Heart Foundation, NYU Real Estate Institute Advisory Board, Omi International Arts Center, Inc., Sports and Arts In Schools Foundation, and the Zicklin School of Business Dean’s Council at Baruch College. Mr. Greenburger graduated from Baruch College in 1974 with a degree in Public Administration. In addition to real estate and the arts, Mr. Greenburger is an avid tennis player. He resides in Manhattan with his wife Isabelle Autones and children Morgan, Noah, Julia and Claire.