Larry Silverstein darts out of the elevator as it touches the lobby of his Park Avenue apartment building, offers me a brisk yet friendly greeting, then races out of the glass door, making sure to offer a courteous “thank you” to the doorman. I am supposed to follow writes Christopher Grimes of the Financial Times. Silverstein is 76, but he walks at an extraordinary clip, as if wearing stilts. It is a muggy Friday morning in July, and he has eschewed his usual double-breasted suit with striped Turnbull & Asser shirt for a blue plaid sportscoat, an open-collared shirt and boat shoes.
I attempt some small talk about the humidity as we head toward his grey, four-door Mercedes, but Silverstein merely rolls his eyes skyward and remarks that “it’s not so bad” in a raspy, Brooklyn-accented voice. Realising that chitchat is not Silverstein’s thing, I ask the New York property developer about the subprime meltdown that has been roiling the markets. As we slip into the car’s back seats, he tells me that we are seeing a healthy correction. “It’s a dislocation for some, and an enormous opportunity for others. People who are over-leveraged find themselves squeezed. This presents opportunities for those of us who have cash.”
In roughly three minutes, Silverstein has displayed the characteristics that friends and associates say define him: relentless energy and focus, and unflagging optimism.
As the driver navigates a swift route to Lower Manhattan in rush-hour traffic, Silverstein talks about his 50 years in the New York property business and, in particular, the project that will secure his place in the city’s history: the redevelopment of the World Trade Center. Silverstein talks openly about his own mortality - he often says he has “no time for green bananas any more” - and his sense of urgency is palpable.
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