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William C. Rudin

A Family Business

Editors’ Note

After graduating from New York University’s School of Business and Public Administration in 1979, Bill Rudin joined the family real estate business, which was founded by his grandfather, Samuel Rudin. He was appointed President in December 1993. An active participant in New York’s political, civic, and philanthropic life, Rudin serves as Chairman of the Association for a Better New York (ABNY) and Chairman of The Battery Conservancy and is a board member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Commission for Economic Opportunity, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York University, the Real Estate Board of New York, the Alliance for Downtown New York, the Real Estate Roundtable, and the New York Center for Autism.

Company Brief

Founded in 1925, New York-based Rudin Management Company, Inc. (www.rudin.com), operates one of the largest and most respected private real estate portfolios in New York, comprising 16 office towers and 20 luxury apartment buildings. Among Rudin’s major projects are the development of Thomson Reuters’ new North American headquarters at 3 Times Square, a 750,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly office building, and the conversion of the former AT&T headquarters at 32 Avenue of the Americas to an international telecommunications and media center.

Are you happy with Rudin Management’s growth and optimistic about New York real estate?

Yes, we are pleased with our growth, and we are optimistic about the future of New York real estate. Traditionally, we are conservative in how we underwrite our projects, which has allowed us to be well positioned to deal with fluctuations in the economy, as well as seek opportunities that may present themselves. We’re confident about the long-term viability of the New York real estate market. Through the leadership of Mayor Bloomberg, our economy continues to expand and grow, attracting new and diverse industries to the city. As an example, our company has attracted expanding international and national media companies, such as RAI [Italian public broadcasting network], Globo [Brazilian Television network], Dentsu [Japanese advertising company], Clear Channel Communications, and Cambridge University Press to our media center at 32 Avenue of the Americas. Media, as well as the technology, health care, and education industries are stable, relatively strong, and growing. New York continues to attract investors throughout the world who want to own a piece of the city.

Is Rudin’s focus on the commercial or residential side?

We have always focused on both. However, right now we are working on a major development project with St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Greenwich Village, creating the first state-of-the-art 21st-century green hospital in New York. We will be responsible for the residential component, which will be a 625,000-square-foot residential condominium. We are presently going through the zoning process with the hospital. It’s the only hospital in the country in a landmark district, so in order for it to expand and create a modern health care facility, it has to go through a complex regulatory and zoning approval process. Part of our residential design includes saving, restoring, and converting four of the hospital’s existing facilities into apartments, in addition to building a new residential tower on 7th Avenue and several new townhouses on 11th Street. This is a long-term project, which will not be coming online for several years, but we have full confidence that demand for residential property will remain strong.

On the commercial side, we continually evaluate development and redevelopment opportunities, while working to maintain our very high occupancy rate in our existing commercial portfolio.

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William Rudin speaks before the
Association for a Better New York,
of which he serves as Chairman.

How much of an impact has going green had on real estate development, and will it be key in any future project?

We have embraced the concept of going green, and any new project, such as St. Vincent’s, will be designed and built to meet LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] standards. We are constantly evaluating our existing portfolio to see how we can become more energy efficient. Additionally, John Gilbert, our COO, has been appointed to Mayor Bloomberg’s NYC Green Codes Task Force.

Are development safety issues being addressed effectively in New York?

Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn, the Real Estate Board of New York, the Building and Construction Trades Council, the Building Trades Employees Association, and ABNY are working together to address these very serious issues by helping to craft new legislation that will enable the city to keep growing, while maintaining safety as the top priority.

How critical are public/private partnerships in addressing those issues?

Public/private partnerships are critical in today’s world to help tackle our existing challenges. The public sector needs the help of the private sector, whether it’s financial assistance, advocacy, or coming up with new ideas. This concept of the public/private partnership was the basis for ABNY’s formation more than 35 years ago, and it still remains true to this day.

How critical is it for leaders to give back to their communities, and how did philanthropy become such an important part of your family’s history?

Philanthropy is extremely critical today as our country deals with a financial crisis and cutbacks in public service. The private sector needs to support the public sector, whether it’s through philanthropy or executives coming to the public sector, like Mayor Bloomberg did. My grandfather, father, and uncle established a family philosophy and commitment to giving back to the city, which has done so much for us. Our philanthropic philosophy, as well as being actively engaged in civic discourse, has been passed down through the generations. Our family foundations, which are run by my sister, Beth Rudin DeWoody, support various medical, cultural, educational and civic institutions, and are a vital component of the continuing tradition of giving back. Philanthropy is part of our family’s DNA.