Two longtime associates of president Donald Trump, Richard LeFrak and Steve Roth have been invited to lead “a council of builders and engineers” who will oversee 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.
A representative for LeFrak declined comment.
LeFrak’s family has been active in developing in New York City, New Jersey, Miami and Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Roth founded Vornado, a prominent NYC landlord, as well as in 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 $2 billion 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.
