Page 36 - Midas Touch

much more experienced by this point, I used some of the city’s
disadvantages to my benefit.

Things still weren’t great in New York, even by the early 1990s, but they
were improving. For starters, because of the situation in the city, it was
easier for me to get the required zoning. That helped because, as the

economic climate began a turn for the better, I was starting to build at a
good time. The timing was right. It wouldn’t have been if I had not been
patient and diligent. It’s important to understand that this was the largest
development ever approved by the New York City Planning Commission.
It included 16 high-rises and uniquely designed residential buildings
facing the Hudson River. We broke ground in 1996, and the results have

been spectacular.

Trump Place has become a meeting place for the once blighted, but now-
thriving West Side, with a 25-acre park that I donated to the city, bicycle
paths for residents and city dwellers to use, picnic and sporting areas that
bring people together, a pier, and open space for popular community
events. It’s been a win-win situation for everyone—the city, the residents,

our company, and our brand. Tenacity definitely paid off.

Robert mentions the “wanna-be” entrepreneurs who may not realize how
hard the going can get—especially when they’re just getting going. I can
relate to that. My first solo venture became so complicated that, at one
point, I just wanted to forget about it. I’m glad I didn’t, because it became
my first major success and put me on the map as a developer in
Manhattan.

The Grand Hyatt Hotel

Maybe you’ve heard of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. It’s right
near Grand Central Station. It’s a beautiful hotel with four exterior walls
of mirrors in a now beautiful and thriving area of midtown Manhattan.
However, in the 1970s, that wasn’t the case. This area had become
dilapidated, and people avoided it unless they had to pass through Grand

Central Station for their commute into and out of the city. There was an
old hotel, The Commodore Hotel, next to the station. It was both in trouble
and an eyesore. The whole area was depressing and becoming a magnet for
crime.