Richard LeFrak and Steve Roth, two of the wealthiest men in real estate and longtime associates of President-elect Donald Trump, have been tapped to head "a council of builders and engineers" that will oversee Donald Trump's plan to invest $1 trillion in U.S. infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Trump's infrastructure promises have been one of the planks of his platform that has given the commercial real estate industry reason for optimism for his presidency. Picking two of the industry's leaders to pilot that effort will surely help public perception, although little is clear about exactly how the plan will be funded or implemented.
A representative for LeFrak declined comment. LeFrak's family has been active in developing in New York City, New Jersey, Miami and Los Angeles. Roth founded Vornado, which is one of the most prominent landlords in NYC and Washington, DC, where it's spinning off its holdings and merging with The JBG Cos to form JBG Smith, which will be the largest landlord in the region for the federal government. Roth will be chairman of the board of JBG Smith when its merger is complete later this year.
JBG Smith is one of the short-listed bidders as the developer for the FBI HQ, a more than $2B contract that would include the development rights to the J. Edgar Hoover Building, just blocks from Trump's Old Post Office hotel. Historically, the government's real estate decisions have been made by the General Services Administration with little input from the president, but Trump could have a hand in picking the winner when it's announced in the next few months. [WSJ]
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