NYC's oldest landlord: Trinity Church

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30 segments

0:00

In the heart of the financial district,

0:01

sits the more [music] than 300-year-old

0:03

Trinity Church. Once the epicenter of a

0:06

215-acre plot of land in downtown

0:09

Manhattan, the church is now one of New

0:11

York City's [music] oldest landlords

0:13

after it divided the land into leases

0:15

and endowments worth billions. In 1754,

0:18

[music]

0:19

Trinity Church donated about 5 acres to

0:21

King's College. Later, that would be

0:23

renamed to Columbia University.

0:25

>> [music]

0:25

>> Just the land that they donated that is

0:27

now where Columbia University is would

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now be worth anywhere between 1 to 3

0:33

billion dollars. In 1857, the college

0:36

sold off just part of the property for

0:38

600,000 dollars at the time. That same

0:41

piece of property [music] today would be

0:43

worth 21 million dollars. Today, Trinity

0:47

is one of the partners behind Hudson

0:48

Square [music] Properties. These days,

0:50

the tenants that pay Trinity Church rent

0:52

include Disney, Google, and even Shake

0:55

[music] Shack. How much is rent worth

0:57

there today? Back in 2018, Disney paid

1:00

650 [music]

1:02

million dollars up front for a 99-year

1:05

ground lease.

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Trinity Church in downtown Manhattan, established over 300 years ago, transformed from a massive landholder into one of New York City's most influential landlords. Through strategic land management, leases, and historical donations—including the land that became Columbia University—the church has amassed billions in assets, currently leasing prime property to major corporations like Disney and Google.