Larry Silverstein Talks Rebuilding, Resilience at the World Trade Center
The veteran developer reflected on his accomplishments, while expressing optimism about the Big Apple’s future.
During a career in New York City real estate that has spanned nearly 70 years, Larry Silverstein has been a leading figure in shaping the city’s skyline.
In a discussion coinciding with the publication of The Rising, a memoir detailing the two-plus-decade long rebuilding of the World Trade Center, Silverstein Properties’ founder expressed pride in what’s been achieved at the site and optimism about the city’s future. The Q&A session took place two days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Five of the Lower Manhattan campus’ planned seven buildings are now complete and 97 percent leased. The development remains one of the Big Apple’s largest hubs of commerce, arts and culture.
“I’ve lost my sense of objectivity,” Silverstein said at the discussion, which took place Monday at 7 World Trade Center, the first tower to be rebuilt after the terrorist attack. “As I look out the window and I see what we’ve accomplished, (I think) we’ve done a reasonably good job,” Silverstein added.
Bullish near the bull’s domain
The process of building new towers, memorializing those lost and revitalizing the area has brought epic challenges. Over the decades, they have ranged from replacing a destroyed Con Edison electric substation to a five-year battle with 22 separate insurance companies over more than $4 billion worth of payouts for the destroyed buildings and infrastructure. Even now, an anchor tenant is yet to be determined for the planned 2 World Trade Center.
Another challenge is that at the time of its rebuilding, the neighborhood was having an identity crisis. Two decades ago, it was still regarded as mostly the domain of stockbrokers and office workers, with many concerns about the area’s safety following the attacks.
“At that time, if you came there on a Saturday or Sunday, you could roll a bowling ball down Wall Street,” Silverstein recalled. Those issues were compounded by the submarket’s aging office stock, much of which dated to the 1970s and 1980s. The pandemic and subsequent rise of the hybrid work model are adding to the challenges. “These buildings today no longer have the needs of their occupants,” Silverstein noted.
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In Silverstein’s view, developers have two options. Either build out easily accessible, aesthetically and functionally appealing office spaces, or convert existing stock to residential. Silverstein happens to be engaging in both acts. Last year, the firm bought 55 Broad St., a 30-story office tower built in 1967, with plans to develop more than 500 apartments. As for what that bowling alley looks like now, “the area between Broad and Water Streets is residential,” Silverstein detailed.
Remembering the roots
When asked about the city’s political climate and struggles with housing costs, Silverstein’s reply mirrored much of his responses to the struggles with rebuilding: New York City can tackle any hardship, be it a financial crisis, pandemic or terror attack, and that a worthy goal is more important than having enough capital or agreeable partners to help one achieve it.
“I’ve been here all my life, working since (1956). It’s given me an opportunity to work my tail off. If (the city) did not provide those opportunities to me, I would have had a totally different life,” Silverstein said.
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