New York City real estate developer Scott Rechler is on his mission to rebuild Manhattan’s future and skyline.
As RXR CEO, Rechler has $17 billion in property under control, but also has time to join the boards of the MTA committee and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
A lifelong New Yorker born on Long Island, Rechler’s optimism about the city’s potential is mitigated by the realism that success in the city is never guaranteed.
“New York… has proven again and again that it can be reconstructed bigger and stronger in itself, but that is not something that has been inherited in advance and that we don’t take for granted,” he said.
Rechler is planning to build the ultimate skyscraper at 175 Park Avenue, now more than ever – we need to invest in creating something that lasts forever.
Technically, one World Trade Center is taller, but Rechler points out that the building’s 408-foot spire will be 1,776 feet.
Quietly, the project will create an entirely new skyline in Manhattan by 2030.
Rechler is similar to Trump’s transformation of the dilapidated Commodore hotel into a Grand Hyatt, a cruel chapter in New York’s history in the ’80s.
“The city has just come out of a really tough time…and the Commodore hotel was a public-private partnership, and it actually lifted the city.
“We have the opportunity to actually realize what he is [Trump’s] The original dream is the much taller building on the site,” he adds.
However, Rechler makes it clear that his project is more than he is tall.
“When you want to reinvent a place like New York repeatedly, you have… something that you’re trying to get people’s imaginations to build the best they can.”
“You can imagine people… you’re proud to step into that building.”
This appears to coincide with Trump’s own vision, and was laid out in a recent executive order. “Federal public buildings should be visually identifiable as civic buildings, and to raise and glorify public spaces, honoring local, tradition and classical architectural heritage.”
Rechler is excited to highlight the vertical presence of RXR expansion in New York City, but the biggest change for the average New Yorker is how office space rebuilds the city.
High-end offices are booming amid a dramatic return to offices. Companies like JPMorgan are not only building more space, but maintaining temporary offices.
“When businesses ask where employees want to work, 80% say New York,” says Rechler.
However, employers have chosen luxury buildings with modern amenities, and so-called B-quality buildings – unattractive property struggles to find tenants. This has created a new opportunity to transform these properties into apartments.
This story is part of Nynext, the essential insider insight into innovation, moonshot and political chess moves that are most important for NYC power players (and aspiring people).
“We have empty office buildings and we have shortages of homes, so we’re finding ways to convert that,” explains Rechler. “We currently have a 15 million square feet of office building, which has been converted into a residential area.”
This shift is already rebuilding the neighborhood in much the same way downtown Manhattan was rebuilt after 9/11.
“You’re going there now, people who get out and have baby carriages, restaurants. It’s a whole different dynamic,” he said.
“It helps with retail… more restaurants can open. Public transport is used more effectively because people use it on weekends. This is a good plan.”
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