By Christopher Doman ’15 and Tobias Bloom ’16

On Friday, October 10, 2014, the Real Estate Association students and Paul Milstein Center staff met with Jason Pizer, President of Trinity Real Estate, and his team to discuss the history of Hudson Square and tour numerous Trinity properties and development sites in the Hudson Square submarket. Trinity Real Estate is a part of Trinity Church, which was bequeathed 238 acres of land on the west side of Manhattan by Queen Anne in 1705. The revenue Trinity Real Estate derives from operating and developing its real estate assets are used to fund the annual operations of Trinity Church and for philanthropic causes.

During the site tour, students visited 1 Hudson Square, the oldest LEED Silver building in Manhattan, as well as 345 Hudson Street, which Trinity currently leases to Viacom and numerous smaller tenants in creative industries. The tenants in Hudson Square are predominantly technology-based firms and creative offices with different needs than the typical office client – Trinity has adapted to provide services such as bike racks, recycling programs, and open-plan office spaces to attract and retain these firms. Students also visited Trinity’s current development site at 2 Hudson Square, adjacent to Duarte Square, a public park that will be a tremendous amenity for the site.

Christopher Doman ’15 is the VP of Site Tours for the Real Estate Association at Columbia Business School. He is a second-year student focusing on real estate development and investing, and will be joining Tishman Speyer at its NYC headquarters post-graduation.

Tobias Bloom ’16 is the AVP of Site Tours for the Real Estate Association at Columbia Business School. He is a first-year student focusing on real estate finance and investments.  Tobias previously worked for Swiss Re in Zurich and New York.