The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey yesterday reached an agreement with Larry Silverstein, the developer, for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center complex.
The deal provides Mr. Silverstein, the builder of the very elegant 7 World Trade Center tower, with a "bail-out" package that would permit him to build two towers on the site if he can raise $300 million in capital and gain some tenant lease commitments.
The deal could mean that "there will be two completed towers at the site by 2013: the centerpiece 1 World Trade Center and the austere 4 World Trade Center" and that "should Mr. Silverstein win tenants and financing for 3 World Trade Center as he begins building it, that would be completed by 2015, according to Silverstein schedules," an article yesterday by Eliot Brown at observer.com said.
"With that, soon most every portion of the site will actually be moving up for the first time in the history of the redevelopment (there was a lot of excavation needed on the Silverstein sites to get them ready)," the article added.
"Under the plan, the authority will provide up to $1.7 billion in financing and other incentives for two of Mr. Silverstein's towers," according to an article in today's edition of The New York Times by Charles V. Bagli.
"But, the authority said, the developer will not be able to profit until after public funds are repaid," the article said, adding that "Christopher O. Ward, the authority's executive director, said the deal was a culmination of a two-year effort. 'It is the final piece to be put in place to ensure that all of downtown will get built,' Mr. Ward said. 'It combines the best of the public sector and private market investment, it will also ensure that the key public projects move forward as well.'"
The article said that Mr. Silverstein said the deal was "fantastic news" and "will ensure that we continue this momentum with a new generation of cutting-edge, green skyscrapers becoming available starting in 2013."
The article noted that the base of the 1,776-foot-tall 1 World Trade Center building is now 350 feet high and that "all 54 arches for a $3.2 billion PATH station are now in place."
The deal provides Mr. Silverstein, the builder of the very elegant 7 World Trade Center tower, with a "bail-out" package that would permit him to build two towers on the site if he can raise $300 million in capital and gain some tenant lease commitments.
The deal could mean that "there will be two completed towers at the site by 2013: the centerpiece 1 World Trade Center and the austere 4 World Trade Center" and that "should Mr. Silverstein win tenants and financing for 3 World Trade Center as he begins building it, that would be completed by 2015, according to Silverstein schedules," an article yesterday by Eliot Brown at observer.com said.
"With that, soon most every portion of the site will actually be moving up for the first time in the history of the redevelopment (there was a lot of excavation needed on the Silverstein sites to get them ready)," the article added.
"Under the plan, the authority will provide up to $1.7 billion in financing and other incentives for two of Mr. Silverstein's towers," according to an article in today's edition of The New York Times by Charles V. Bagli.
"But, the authority said, the developer will not be able to profit until after public funds are repaid," the article said, adding that "Christopher O. Ward, the authority's executive director, said the deal was a culmination of a two-year effort. 'It is the final piece to be put in place to ensure that all of downtown will get built,' Mr. Ward said. 'It combines the best of the public sector and private market investment, it will also ensure that the key public projects move forward as well.'"
The article said that Mr. Silverstein said the deal was "fantastic news" and "will ensure that we continue this momentum with a new generation of cutting-edge, green skyscrapers becoming available starting in 2013."
The article noted that the base of the 1,776-foot-tall 1 World Trade Center building is now 350 feet high and that "all 54 arches for a $3.2 billion PATH station are now in place."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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