In July 2001, Silverstein Properties completed the largest real estate transaction in New York history when it signed a 99-year lease for the 10.6-million-square-foot WTC for $3.2 billion, only to see it destroyed in terrorist attacks six weeks later on September 11, 2001.

Silverstein Properties immediately committed to rebuilding the World Trade Center as the anchor to a brighter, more vibrant future for all of downtown New York. Once fully rebuilt, the World Trade Center will re-establish downtown Manhattan as the country’s leading financial center. Just as importantly, the neighborhood will be more dynamic than at any point in its history, with exciting new retail and cultural components, as well as extensive and inviting new public spaces – all surrounded by a burgeoning residential community that has grown by 30 percent since 2001.

In May 2006, Silverstein Properties invited the entire downtown community to help celebrate for the official opening of 7 WTC, the last building to fall on 9/11 and the first to be rebuilt. Recognized as the city’s first new “green” office building by the U.S. Green Building Council, the modern, glass and steel office tower is home to a wide-array of cutting edge tenants, who have leased most of the available office space in the building. Like 7 WTC, Silverstein Properties has made a commitment to New York to employ top-tier environmental, safety, and aesthetic standards as part of each tower it develops on the World Trade Center site.

Larry A. Silverstein serves as President and CEO of Silverstein Properties, Inc., a Manhattan-based real estate development and investment firm that owns, manages and has developed 20 million square feet of office, residential and retail space. The firm has $9 billion worth of construction activity currently under way.

In July 2001, Mr. Silverstein completed the largest real estate transaction in New York history when he signed a 99-year lease on the 10.6 million sq. ft. World Trade Center for $3.25 billion, only to see it destroyed in terrorist attacks six weeks later on September 11, 2001. He is currently rebuilding the office component of the World Trade Center site, an $8-billion project that will consume the balance of his working life.

In May 2006, Silverstein Properties opened 7 World Trade Center, a 52-story, 1.7 million square foot office tower at 250 Greenwich Street, just north of the World Trade Center site. In September 2006, designs were unveiled for three new office towers on the WTC site - 200, 175 and 150 Greenwich Street - that will be developed by Silverstein Properties. Construction on the three towers will begin in 2008.

Earlier this year, Mr. Silverstein hired Robert A.M. Stern to design a new luxury residential and hotel tower at 99 Church Street in Lower Manhattan. Stern joins the roster of world-class architects - David Childs, Lord Norman Foster, Fumihiko Maki and Lord Richard Rogers - who are working with Silverstein Properties to transform the landscape downtown.

Mr. Silverstein is also building Silver Towers at River Place, two 60-story residential towers at 600 West 42nd Street, the companion to I River Place, a 40-story, 921-unit tower which opened in 2000. On completion in 2010, the square block development will house over 2,200 families.

Mr. Silverstein is a member of the New York Bar and a Governor of the Real Estate Board of New York, having served as its Chairman. He served as Vice Chairman of the New York University Board of Trustees and is the Founder and Chairman emeritus of the New York University Real Estate Institute. As a Professor of Real Estate, his "Silverstein Workshop" became one of the most attended and informative educational sources for learning real estate development and investment analysis.

Larry and Klara Silverstein have been married for fifty one years and have three children, two of whom are executives at Silverstein Properties. Mr. Silverstein contributes his time and resources to organizations that are dedicated to education and medical research, meeting humanitarian needs and supporting the arts. He is a classical music enthusiast, a passionate yachtsman and a dedicated New Yorker.