Lumber from iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to be used in building Habitat for Humanity home in Philadelphia

Becoming a modern Christmas tradition, the Rockefeller Center™ Christmas Tree will help make many brighter holidays for years to come for low-income families when lumber milled from the tree is donated to Habitat for Humanity for the eighth consecutive year.

After the holidays, Tishman Speyer, the owner and building manager of Rockefeller Center, will mill and return lumber from the 85-foot-tall, 13-ton Norway spruce to its home state of Pennsylvania where it will be delivered to Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia.

“The annual holiday gift of the lumber from the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been a blessing for both Habitat and the families who have benefited from the donation,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “We are grateful for Tishman Speyer’s generosity and look forward to giving this year’s tree new life as a Habitat home.”

“For more than eight decades, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been synonymous with the holiday season,” said Keith Douglas, managing director, Rockefeller Center. “We can think of no better way to cap off the holidays than letting the tree’s legacy continue as a home for a family in need of affordable housing.”

Last year’s tree was used earlier this year to build the exterior and interior walls of a Habitat home in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Lumber from previous trees has been used in the construction of homes in Pascagoula, Mississippi; Stamford, Connecticut; Newburgh, New York; Philadelphia; Morris, New Jersey; and New York City.

Inspired by Tishman Speyers’s annual tradition of donating the milled lumber of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, author David Rubel collaborated with Habitat for Humanity, Random House and illustrator Jim LaMarche to create “The Carpenter’s Gift,” an uplifting holiday picture book set in Depression-era New York. Highlighting the timeless themes of charity and goodwill, “The Carpenter’s Gift” shows that the best gifts are the ones that are unexpected, and may well inspire readers to do some giving of their own.

About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Anchored by the conviction that housing provides a path out of poverty, since 1976 Habitat has helped more than 5 million people through home construction, rehabilitation and repairs and by increasing access to improved shelter through products and services. Habitat also advocates to improve access to decent and affordable shelter and offers a variety of housing support services that enable families with limited means to make needed improvements on their homes as their time and resources allow. As a nonprofit Christian housing organization, Habitat works in more than 70 countries and welcomes people of all races, religions and nationalities to partner in its mission. To learn more, donate or volunteer, visit habitat.org.

About Tishman Speyer
Tishman Speyer is one of the leading developers, owners, operators and asset managers of first class real estate worldwide. Active across North America, Europe, South America and Asia, Tishman Speyer is relied upon by many of the world’s most prestigious corporations to meet their office space needs. As of March 31, 2014, the firm had acquired, developed and/or managed a portfolio of approximately 130 million sq. ft. with a total value of approximately US$66.9 billion since its founding in 1978. Signature assets include New York’s Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Center, São Paulo’s Torre Norte, Ventura Corporate Towers in Rio de Janeiro and OpernTurm in Frankfurt. Tishman Speyer also has projects at different stages of development currently in Brasília, Chengdu, Frankfurt, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, Suzhou and Tianjin.