Silverstein keynote speaker at IREM monthly luncheon in May

The Greater New York chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management hosted their May monthly luncheon at Mindy's Restaurant in the New York Helmsley Hotel in NYC. The luncheon featured honored keynote speaker Larry Silverstein, president & CEO of Silverstein Properties, Inc. The topic of his talk was "Building the Future of Lower Manhattan." In July 2001, Silverstein Properties completed the largest real estate transaction in New York history by acquiring the 10 million s/f World Trade Center, only to see it destroyed by terrorist attacks six weeks later on September 11th. Since then, Silverstein has been committed to the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site and downtown Manhattan. On May 23, 2006, Silverstein Properties opened 7 World Trade Center, a 52-story, 1.7 million s/f office tower, at 250 Greenwich St., just north of the World Trade Center site. With construction of the Freedom Tower and design plans for three additional towers along Greenwich St. already underway, the opening of 7 WTC represented a pivotal moment for the neighborhood that will undoubtedly draw even more visitors and businesses to the area. The redevelopment of the site will have a substantial impact on the New York area economy. Completion date for the WTC projects is scheduled for 2012. Commented IREM Greater New York Chapter president James Hayden, CPM, "The committment Larry Silverstein has shown to the rebuilding of the World Trade Center sites and to downtown Manhattan in general is remarkable.   Listening to him speak about each project and their potential impact on New York City gives us all cause for hope in knowing that while we were devastated by the events of September 11th, Silverstein's vision, passion and determination will result in a downtown with an bright future ahead. We cannot bring back those that we lost, but we can honor them in this way."