2024-11-24T04:50:09-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149987132/donald-trump-taps-two-of-the-richest-developers-to-oversee-infrastructure-plan Nicholas Korody 2017-01-18T12:43:00-05:00 >2018-01-30T06:16:04-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/9e/9ef1a3lmd21lj07j.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Donald Trump has chosen Richard LeFrak and Steve Roth, &ldquo;two of the wealthiest men in real estate&rdquo; according to <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/bisnow/2017/01/17/donald-trump-taps-richard-lefrak-steven-roth-to-lead-new-infrastructure-council/#3e0036e76f49" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Forbes</a>,&nbsp; to head a &ldquo;council of builders and engineers&rdquo;. This new council will be tasked with overseeing Trump&rsquo;s plan to invest $1 trillion in infrastructure. As Archinect previously <a href="http://archinect.com/features/article/149975615/archinect-s-2016-us-presidential-election-guide-how-trump-and-clinton-stand-on-the-issues-architects-care-about-most" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">reported</a>, the Republican infrastructure plan relies heavily on private-public partnerships, so it&rsquo;s not really a surprise that developers will be involved. That being said, scant details have been provided on how Trump plans to shore up the nation&rsquo;s crumbling infrastructure.</p><p>Roth founded Vornado, one of the most prominent real estate trusts in New York and Washington. Tornado is merging with JBG Smith, which is one of the short-listed bidders for the development of a new FBI headquarters&mdash;a $2 billion contract. The LeFrak family has played a sizable role in developing New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Miami.</p><p>In the past, the president had little to do with real estate decisions. That will likel...</p>