Page 84 - Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success

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B IG P ROBLEMS , B IG O PPOR TUNITIES

nity, as I saw it, was not just to turn an old hotel into a shiny
new one, but to bring up the neighborhood at the same time.
It’s that “think big” attitude that I have. Why do one thing
when you can accomplish two or more at the same time?
The old Commodore Hotel next to Grand Central was in
big trouble. It was a disgraceful sight. The people passing by
were on their way to good jobs, coming from good homes and
they would continue this daily trek unless the city folded up and
went goodbye, which wasn’t likely to happen. I knew that the
neighborhood was ready for change, and acquiring the Com-
modore Hotel became a quest.
Even my father couldn’t believe I was serious. He said
“buying the Commodore at a time when even the Chrysler
Building is in bankruptcy is like fighting for a seat on the
Titanic.” He knew it was a risk and so did I. The flip side was
that I knew it was a way to get the city to flourish the way it
should. I’d be creating jobs and improving the neighborhood,
for starters. I wanted it to be beautiful, and that gave me incen-
tive to get through all the problems and negativity surround-
ing this project. That’s a good thing to keep in mind—use
your mind to visualize how things might be, as you go along.
That can make the plethora of details and setbacks just a part
of the plan.
About nine months before I was seriously into negotiations
for the hotel, the owner—Penn Central Railroad—spent about
$2 million in renovations that had no impact whatsoever. The
hotel needed far more work. Six million dollars was owed in back
taxes. It was not a pleasant situation for the owners, and they
were ready to get out. Before I could purchase the hotel for $10
million, I had to structure an extremely complex deal with other
interested parties. I needed a tax abatement from the City of
New York, commitment from a hotel company with experience
running hotels, and financing. This was complicated stuff and it
took several years to negotiate everything.

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