Lehigh University College of Business and Economics’ blog recently published an article by Dawn Thren on a presentation 25 of its Integrated Real Estate (ire@l) students who studied at One World Trade Center this past April in an effort to understand how to increase real estate value.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Executive Vice Chairman Tara Stacom ’80 held court, where she led the students on a morning walking tour of the WTC site and the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Stacom happens to be the co-leasing agent of floors 20 through 90, so she regaled students with intimate details of “the tenants that have leased space in the various towers, infrastructure and underground network of transportation and retail.”
The field trip was sponsored by the Stacom Family Executive Speaker Series, which “arranges keynote presentations by experts who share professional insight.” The series is in line with Stacom’s passion to offer Lehigh students “interested in entering real estate” a leg up. Stacom elaborates: “If I can help Lehigh in any way set itself apart from other institutions, I will, and I think the ire@l program does just that.”
L&L Holding Company’s President and Chief Information Officer Rob Lapidus ‘13P took over after the lunch break to discuss how “his team is transforming two iconic buildings on Park Avenue and Madison Avenue to…attract clients who want more visionary space and less commodity space.”
According to the article, Lapidus believes adding modern, hip amenities like “yoga lounges and floor-to-ceiling windows” to 40s and 50s trophy buildings will attract the young and upwardly mobile. “Even law firms are renovating and creating more collaborative and open spaces,” Lapidus told students.
Durst Organization representatives Eric Engelhardt, Karen Kuznick, and Tom Bow concluded the visit with an overview of the “history and successes of the fourth-generation real estate family and their impact on the New York City skyline.”