NEWNEW YORKYORK

Staying Ahead of the Trends

An Interview with Jared Kushner, Chief Executive Offi cer, Kushner Companies

EDITORS’ NOTE As CEO of Kushner and where people want to live and How have you positioned Commercial Companies, Jared Kushner oversees a work. Despite a lot of non-business Observer in the market? real estate portfolio consisting of more friendly aspects of the environment It’s a B-to-B, and I’m very bullish on trade than 20,000 multi-family apart- here, every company wants to be here publications in general. There are a lot of great ments and over 11 million square and almost needs to be here, because industries that are very dynamic, like commer- feet of offi ce, industrial, and retail this is where the talent wants to be. cial real estate, where there is a big demand for space across the country, completing I’m incredibly bullish on New industry-specifi c news. more than $10 billion in real estate York today for its short-term and long- What we fi nd in Commercial Observer is transactions since 2007. Kushner is term future. that people read the advertising as much as they also an active investor in and advi- Has the development of 666 read the content, because a lot of the adver- sor to technology companies, and sits Fifth Avenue panned out as you tising is about available space and people con- on the boards of start-ups including had hoped? veying to the marketplace what they want. So Urban Compass, Honest Buildings, Jared Kushner Fifth Avenue has become the most that product continues to grow year over year, and 42 Floors. Since 2006, Kushner traffi cked retail street in the world, and the reader absorption is tremendous, and the has served as Chairman of Observer Media, from a tourist and shopper point of view, it gets demand is very high. growing the company into a true multimedia the highest rents in the world now. How did you develop your interest in business that combines the voice and infl uence A lot of the things we have done as a com- technology? of The New York Observer with unique prop- pany have been ahead of where the market was My brother has a big venture fund in New erties that serve passionate, targeted audiences going. We were very bullish on Fifth Avenue, as York, and I attribute a lot of my success in real like BetaBeat, PolitickerNJ, Gallerist, Commercial well as SoHo, the East Village, and Brooklyn, estate over the past few years to the time that Observer, Commercial Mortgage Observer, and where we have been buying very actively. We I’ve spent advising a lot of his companies on Vegas Seven. Kushner graduated from Harvard have been trying to get ahead of the trends and their real estate needs. It has given me a better University with Honors and earned M.B.A. and actively invest in creating these markets where insight into what these companies want from J.D. degrees from New York University Stern we see demand that is not really being met by their space and their landlords, and has enabled School of Business and New York University the existing stock of landlords and product. me to understand where people want to be. School of Law. Are you surprised to see how quickly Also, with Mayor Bloomberg, we launched certain areas of the city have grown? WiredScore, which is a program that I learned COMPANY BRIEF Headquartered in New York Not really, because New York is a place about from spending time with these technology City, Kushner Companies (kushnercompanies. where so many people want to live. There are companies. It’s goal is to bring Internet transpar- com) is a diversifi ed real estate organization in- empty-nesters whose kids are out of the house ency to the buildings in New York City. Tenants volved in the ownership, management, develop- who are selling their homes in the suburbs and will be able to see what carriers are available in ment, and redevelopment of numerous properties, coming to live in the 24/7 environment that of- buildings before they sign leases there. They will which consist of thousands of multi-family apart- fers so many ways to spend your time. know which landlords have invested in the right ments and millions of square feet of offi ce, in- You also have young kids coming out of infrastructure, and how long it will take them dustrial, and retail space. college today who want to live in cities. As a to get up and running through the Internet. result, you will see the urban populations con- We now have more than 475 buildings that Are your media, technology, and real estate tinuing to grow. are reporting their scores in New York City interests intertwined or do you view them Manhattan is a little island with only so and we’re going to take this program national. separately? many places where people can be. Is real estate the foundation of the city? I view myself as a businessperson, as Will a large percentage of the popula- The foundation of New York are the great someone who is going to follow things that in- tion be priced out of this market? people that make up New York, and who work terest me, be it in media, technology, or real es- I’m very bullish on Jersey City, because across all industries. The fi nancial sector is hugely tate. My primary focus has been real estate and Manhattan has moved south over the past few important to New York because it creates a lot of that is where we’ve seen a lot of opportunity. years: 23rd Street, maybe even Houston Street, are high-paying jobs and supports our real estate in Now we’re starting to do more in media, and like the new midtown. There are 70,000 jobs go- many ways – it occupies a lot of offi ce space and my brother does a lot in technology. ing into the World Trade Center area, which is many of those people live in homes here. How is the real estate market faring to- a desirable place for a lot of young companies, However, real estate is crucial because even day and is the recovery sustainable? based on how much of the workforce is coming with the new administration’s desire to build a It’s important not to compare the city to from Brooklyn, SoHo, and Tribeca. We will see a lot lot more affordable housing, you need the real how it was fi ve years ago. of the younger people working in New York but estate industry to help make that happen. There is a global trend towards urbaniza- living in Jersey City where they can get fabulous Real estate is integral because it touches every tion, so people are moving to cities around the apartments, amazing views of Manhattan, and business in the city, but in New York, there is no world. New York is a leader, both in terms of great amenities, all just a 5-to-10-minute PATH industry more important than another. We all come being a place where people want to put capital, train ride away from the World Trade Center. together to make the city the great city it is.• 188 LEADERS POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2014 LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC. VOLUME 37, NUMBER 4