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Someone involved in real estate, energy, farming, ranching, and so much more, and is involved in a big anniversary for the United States, including a special project on the East side of New York City. We've got with us. Michael Hirshman is CEO over at Solo Viev Group. He joins us here in the Bloomberg Interactive Brokers Studio. Michael, welcome back, Good to see you. How are you well.
I'm pretty good, Thanks for asking that. A nice holiday season, but back at work now.
Good.
Well, you guys are very busy. I mean you're one of the largest landowners in the entire United States. You've got your hands in everything, energy, ranching, farming, commercial, real estate, office space here in New York City. We haven't had a chance to catch up with you in quite a while, so I want to start big picture and just get your thoughts. We're asking everyone about the election, what a
new administration means for their business. How are you thinking about things heading into twenty twenty five.
Well, we are looking forward to the unpredictable, because that's what our new president is. He's entirely unpredictable, and we don't know from day to day what's going to happen. But we hope that interest rates will continue to go down at least for the for the next few quarters. And from our standpoint, things are booming, particularly in our commercial buildings because we have very high level commercial buildings in New York City.
Top tier, top tier, and make those buildings.
Those buildings have been doing very, very well despite the downturn in commercial real estate.
So in other words, demand getting the price you want in terms of per square footage, like all of that is coming through.
Indeed, Yes, yeah, I mean, we'd like to think that nine West fifty seventh Street, which is our main building, is the number one building in New York, if not the United States. Some might argue that we're number two, but I doubt that we'd go any lower than that.
Well, quantify if.
You can as much as you can, because we love color. We love the commercial real estate spase and talking about it office demand in particular, as you know the last couple of years, coming off the pandemic, everybody is talking about those properties that are in trouble. What has office demand been like, and especially we've seen a lot of finance firms moving further and further south to be near Grand Central Park Avenue. Is that taking demand from them? Is that helping you guys?
I think it does help. Look, we're still there's.
Still a lot of folks that are hurting out there, both not only commercial residential. From a homeowner standpoint, right, we know that there's a lack of affordable housing, not only in New York City but frankly of course the nation. But we do believe that this administration is now setting out on the right track to make it easier for developers to develop housing, particularly affordable housing. And we expect the commercial boom to continue because so many people are coming back to work.
Now.
We just talked about JP Morgan this week. According to some sources that they aren't going expected to say, everybody's got to be back in the office five days a week. But I am curious, like, you know, what can you tell us about office demand specifically for nine West fifty seven? So strong, stronger than it's been, or what can you.
Tell us stronger than it's been? The pickup began really the last half of last year. The first half was slow, but the last half was booming and it's continuing into the new year as well.
And is it financial?
Build Our building is on nine West, which is our.
Primary modernist skyscraper.
Yeah, it's that building was built in nineteen seventy four. Incredible and it was the first sloped office building.
Whenever I walk by, I look up at it, I'm like, how is it? How is it doing that?
Well? What was interesting is back then all of the architectural community thought it was the ugliest building ever built, and ten years later it was winning awards.
But we're ninety seven percent occupied? Wow?
Is it financial?
Folks?
Is it a broad swath of different types of occupants? Commercial?
Financial firms, high tech our biggest clients, and there's in the class A buildings. Frankly, there's just not enough space to accommodate their needs.
At this point, I.
Want to help our viewers and listeners understand the business because we're talking a lot about commercial real estate. But you guys are in railroads, you're in mining, you're in farming, ag where's the wind and solar energy? Where's the biggest area for growth?
Biggest area for growth? Clearly is in green energy.
In the hole in your whole portfolio.
Very much, so, wow, very much.
We've converted tens and tens of thousands of acres of agricultural and ranching property for wind and solar.
The needs are unending, and.
Particularly now in the area of data centers, data processing centers for AI, there's just not enough energy to support the growth in that area.
The President elect has said he doesn't want to see anymore windmills and wind power in the United States.
You know, he has said that, and he's talked about that in the past, But when he's talked about it in the past, he often was referring to offshore and the fact that it's bad for birds, so he really didn't relate it to the need for energy, but it was more of an a rights issue.
So you're not concerned about around that.
No, I don't think that we're going to see a cutback in the growth in green energy at all.
Well, can you tell us you know, forgive me, I'm throwing this at you because it was a story today at President Biden the administration. I guess before he heads out looking to streamline permitting for geothermal energy developments as part of a way to you know, increase the infrastructure for AI data centers. What else can you tell us about from what you are seeing? Your vantage point about those AI energy demands?
Is it? Because is it?
Everybody thinking about wind and alternative energy? I mean, what else are you hearing on that front? So? Look, are you starting to talk about nuclear like investments in nuclear?
We're talking about small nuclear facilities right now. It's a it's a question of what is economically feasible in the short term. Right now, we're really talking about wind and solar because it's already established. We know the economics behind it. Geothermal, Yeah, we'd love to know more about it, nuclear as well. A lot of the by the way, a lot of these data commuter computer centers for AI, they're being built
in areas that are not heavily populated. So going to nuclear or other alternative forms of energy may not be a bad idea because you may not have a lot of community opposition.
Right, Okay, So we talked commercial real estate, we talked wind energy, and we talked about green energy before we talk art. One more area of growth for the company going into twenty twenty five.
Our hospitality group is growing exponentially hotels, restaurants, and of course, of course the here in New York, And of course we're planning an integrated resort on the First Avenue property, which would bring restaurants, retail, casino, twelve hundred and some odd room hotel to residential towers. But before that that happens, of course, we're going to have something called Path to Liberty that which is night That is a Segue's good.
To ask about the casino bit, but tell us about tell us about what you guys are doing this really cool exhibit.
Throughout last year we had an exhibit on the site called Field of Lights, and it turned out to be very popular. We had over eighty thousand visitors to the site and it ended in December, and I was thinking about what can we do next while we wait for the state to make up its mind as to who's going to get these three downstate licenses? And you know, I was thinking to myself during this last campaign, the word democracy became so politicized it never happened before in
the history of our country. Who's more democratic? And you know, they really weren't talking about the underlying principles of democracy, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, freedom of speech, freedom of press. They were talking about democracy as a form of government.
Not a perfect form of government.
And we all know that trust in government is down, so trust in democracy.
Seemed to be going down.
And then, of course I realized twenty twenty six is a very important year here, not only because we're hosting the fief of World Cup, but it's a two hundred and fifty year anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independencey it's not workat and I thought, I don't see much planning going on across the country.
To celebrate that.
So I decided, let's do something we quill to twenty twenty six to get people excited about our birthday. And so we've gone across the country. I've sent producers across the country to interview ordinary Americans about what they like about America and what they dislike about America, and how the underlying principles of democracy has helped them in their lives and in their careers. And we have some touching
stories to tell. Will have screens, very large screens along the path to liberty, which is the path that we already had developed along the field of lights ordinary people talking about the importance of freedom and how it's helped them in their lives. Some of these folks are farmers, some of them are firemen. They come from all walks of life.
I have to say this is lovely and I feel like it's like every time I get into their cab or something or even an uber left. And what's kind of cool about it is it's often people who've come to America looking for an opportunity or something, and I love to get their life stories and they remind us of why they've come here and why and they often will say, you, guys have no idea, how good you have it here?
Well, it's not only the people that you make a very good point, not only the people who come here.
Money comes here. Yeah.
If you look at the sovereign fronts along the world around the world, whether it's Norway or whether it's the Saudias or the Guitar whoever it might be, they're investing in the United States, They're investing in New York City. They feel stronger about America and America's future than some Americans do. Why is that? Is it because people are unhappy? And if so, what are they unhappy? About that's some of the stories we want to tell, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Yeah.
I think it's great and such a part of our history. I have to ask you thirty seconds any update on the casino.
So we're really excited about our project, which we're calling Freedom Plaza. It's going to provide the community with four point seven acres of green space park which is sorely needed in that neighborhood, a museum dedicated to freedom and democracy. That will also be a community center where the communities surrounding communities come together the whole events and meetings. Where the casino, which everyone of course is talking about, is going to be below ground. We're not bringing a Las
Vegas style casino with lights and water fountains. It's going to be blow ground. And we're doing two residential towers which will have over five hundred affordable homes in them.
Which we've got to wait till July or that's.
Ever been built on the East Side before, but we're going.
To wait till July. I think guys what I understand right, Yes, Michael Hersman, we got to run. Whish we had more time, but thank you so much and thanks for coming in studio.
Thanks for having me and happy New Year do all of you. Yeah from Larry David.
Well said, Well said Michael Hurst, beIN Chief executive of Oliviev Group, joining us right here in studio. Thank you, Michael,