That didn't take long to come to a deal - that is once the Port Authority figured out what it wanted first. It was the internal bickering that took the bulk of the time, not negotiating with Silverstein.
The deal, if it is ultimately approved by all sides, would also end the uncertainty that downtown executives say has hampered the resurgence of Lower Manhattan, while clearing the way for construction to start on the Freedom Tower.Whose fault is it that the Freedom Tower is in the 'wrong place' and is unlikely to be attractive to tenants? That would be Gov. Pataki and Daniel Libeskind who set up the master plan in the first place.
But the turmoil at ground zero will not disappear. Rebuilding officials expect that the focus will now shift from commercial development at ground zero to the troubled memorial project. Consultants are expected to deliver a report in the next week showing that the cost of the memorial and a museum has swelled to as much as $800 million from $500 million. Fund-raising has been sluggish at best.
Mr. Silverstein, who leased the World Trade Center site from the Port Authority six weeks before it was destroyed in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, would cede responsibility for building the Freedom Tower, the largest, most symbolic and troubled skyscraper planned for the site, to the authority.
Despite its symbolic role, the Freedom Tower was widely regarded as too big, located in the wrong spot, and unlikely to be attractive to corporate tenants, who view the building as a target.
The deal is an attempt to put the project on a viable financial footing. The state has pledged to contribute $250 million and round up 1 million square feet of leases, most likely to federal agencies. The tower would also get about $970 million in insurance proceeds toward an estimated cost of $2 billion.
Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center, spitzer, silverstein.
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