Page 35 - Midas Touch

our destiny as a brand and as an organization. There’s timing to be
considered. There have been many times when I have had to wait a long
time, and very patiently, for projects to get off the ground, for things to
happen. For example, believe it or not, I waited 20 years to see Trump

Place on the Hudson River begin construction. How many of you would be
patient enough and focused enough to wait that long? How many of you
would have enough belief in the project to withstand the trials and
tribulations it took during those 20 years? That’s a long time, but my
vision for the development was clear to me and I wanted it to be done. Was
it easy? No. But once again, it was worth the wait, and it made me stronger
and more resolute.

Here are some of the details. This story began in 1974 when I secured the
option to buy the West Side rail yards from Penn Central Railroad. New
York City wasn’t doing very well then, even though this was riverfront
property and I was getting it at a low price.

At that time, I was busy with my other projects, including the
Commodore/Hyatt renovation and Trump Tower. At the waterfront, I

encountered great resistance from the West Side community which did not
want Trump Place to happen. In addition, government subsidies, which
helped make the project profitable, dropped for the sort of housing I was
considering. That alone put me in a tough situation. Recognizing the deal
just wasn’t going to work, I gave up my original option in 1979, and the
city sold the rail yards to someone else.

Fortunately for me, the buyers didn’t have much experience in New York,

and even less experience with rezoning. That’s a complex facet of real
estate in this city. Their inexperience caused them to make a lot of
mistakes, and eventually they were forced to sell out. It was 1984 when
they called to let me know they were interested in selling. I agreed to buy
it for $100 million. That’s about $1 million per acre for waterfront
property in midtown Manhattan. It was a great deal. But I still wasn’t even
close to developing the property.

Between 1984 and 1996, my patience was truly tested and so was my
tenacity. I had to deal with the antics of the city, which were plentiful as
well as ridiculous. Business savvy comes with experience. Since I was