Silverstein Properties Inc.

The Port Authority today acknowledged that it will be late in delivering a key portion of the World Trade Center site to developer Larry Silverstein, owing him millions in penalties.

The bi-state agency said it will take until August to turn over the site for Tower 2, a space being excavated that it is obligated to turn over by July 1. The Port Authority will owe Mr. Silverstein $300,000 a day for each day that the site is late, the same penalty it faced when it missed a Jan. 1 deadline for the site for Towers 3 and 4, eventually owing more than $12 million.

In a statement, the Port Authority noted that the agency will now not be paying an incentive of between $8 million and $14 million that it was prepared to pay its contractors had they finished on time.  read more »

The contracts for the foundations of two World Trade Center towers have been awarded, Silverstein Properties announced today, as developer Larry Silverstein revs his engines before taking control of the site at the start of next year.

The contracts, totaling about $40 million, are fairly minimal given the approximately $7 billion cost of the three Silverstein towers on the site, though the contracts mark one of the first construction-related actions by Mr. Silverstein.

Press release after the jump.  read more »

Larry Silverstein has filled two-thirds of 7 World Trade Center. Silverstein Properties announced on Tuesday that DRW Trading has leased 8,568 square feet on the 34th floor. The company should be moved in by August.

Also, Silverstein Properties announces Moody's will take an extra 80,000 square feet in addition to the 590,000 they already signed on for. Steve Cuozzo of The Post reported that one a few weeks ago.

That means 1.1 million square feet is taken and roughly another 500,000 to go for the city's most valuable downtown office building.

Full-release after the jump.  read more »

- John Koblin

After months of speculation, Larry Silverstein has finally decided to convert 99 Church into a hotel-condo. The Real Deal has the scoop late this afternoon. Silverstein will build a 60-story mega-hotel-condo, with the first 20 floors turning into a ritzy hotel and the rest of the tower going residential.

Lauren Elkies quotes Lisa Silverstein, Larry's daughter and Vice President of Silverstein Properties, saying the site makes sense as condo since "there's zero competition."

"I realized there are just no grand Park Avenue apartments downtown, and I'd like to create that," Ms. Silverstein said.

So with Larry jumping on board--and Joseph Moinian building a W Hotel on Washington Street--is the swanky hotel the big new trend downtown? Who else is going to follow suit?

- John Koblin

The Real Estate just got this wonderful, fuzzy, warm, delicious, inspiring holiday card from Silverstein Properties. Larry Silverstein, apparently, equates the holidays in New York with, well, the buildings planned for the trade center site, where he's the leaseholder. (Although, there is something inspiring about something - anything - finally rising there.) - Tom Acitelli

Silverstein Properties and its new joint venture partner, a pension fund named the Califronia State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), made its first splash together on the Manhattan real estate scene, snagging 575 Lexington Avenue for $400 million.

According to Silverstein Properties, the partnership allows for "$2 billion in buying power" in Manhattan real estate. The tower on Lexington is at the corner of 51st street, has 35 stories and 600,000 square feet. The building's tenants include Cornell University, the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner and Radianz Americas, Inc., New York Sports Club and Staples.

CB Richard Ellis advised the transaction.

The full release after the jump.  read more »

From left, the Freedom Tower (David Childs) as we know and love it; and designs unveiled today for 200 Greenwich Street (or Tower 2, by Sir Norman Foster), 175 Greenwich Street (or Tower 3, by Sir Richard Rogers), and 150 Greenwich Street (or Tower 4 by Fumihiko Maki).  read more »

-Matthew Schuerman

The director of the proposed China Center at 7 World Trade Center says Beijing Vantone never agreed to Larry Silverstein's deadlines. Full statement, put out by the Partnership for New York City, which helped bring the deal together in the first place, after the jump. -Matthew Schuerman  read more »

A small story with broad implications: the other shrouded building at Ground Zero, CUNY's Fiterman Hall, won't be torn down anytime soon. The Daily News reported over the long weekend that the state Dormitory Authority rejected all bids for its demolition because they did not fully address environmental issues. Silverstein Properties has blamed the Barclay Street eyesore for slow renting at 7 World Trade Center, which is across the street. -Matthew Schuerman

Now that the Port Authority, the Governor, Mayor and Larry Silverstein are all in agreement about the World Trade Center, they are ganging up on the insurers who have yet to pay Silverstein more than $2 billion in court-ordered awards. Today, Governor Pataki's press office e-mailed a statement saying, "I have spoken with Governor Corzine and Mayor Bloomberg's offices and together we have asked the Port Authority and Silverstein Properties to commence appropriate legal action within the next several days to gain the resolution and assurances we need." Silverstein seconded that with a statement of his own.

Sources said a lawsuit could be filed early next week. Port Authority spokesman John McCarthy wouldn't confirm the schedule but said, "We are exploring our legal options."

Under the April 26 agreement, about 35 percent of the available insurance money was supposed to be transferred from Silverstein to the Port Authority to go towards the Freedom Tower but so far the insurance companies have not agreed that they would make the switch.

Oh, and anybody who thought the Rebuild Them Now Movement was dead should check out the comments on our previous Freedom Tower post. -Matthew Schuerman

Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia resurrected doubts about the Freedom Tower's future at a Crain's breakfast this morning, six weeks after April's sunny announcement which transferred ownership of the Freedom Tower from Silverstein Properties to the bi-state transportation agency.

"The agreement contemplates that we will go between now and September and we will decide whether or not we have the kind of leases for that building which make it a financially viable project," Coscia said.

Coscia did not specify what would happen if those leases were not signed. "It is possible at that stage we would rethink the project," he said, when asked whether the tower would be scaled back. A Port Authority official told The Real Estate later that the tower would be built--the question was whether it would attain its 1,776-foot height.

Coscia also said that the construction underway that would bring the tower up to grade should continue.

None of the publicity surrounding the April's agreement with Silverstein Properties even hinted that securing 1 million square feet in leases from government entities would be a problem. Coscia, while saying that negotiating with the federal government is slow, said, "We are pleased with the progress to date and I am optimistic that by September we will have leases."

Optimistic? If this is something you need to be optimistic about, how do things look if you are realistic?

-Matthew Schuerman

The special Larry Silverstein edition of Zagat wins for May because it 1) is actually useful, 2) does not shrink in the wash, and 3) didn't have much competition. But really, the 192-page guide is a brilliant marketing stroke. It is made up of all the downtown listings from Tim Zagat's restaurant, shopping, nightlife and gourmet marketplace surveys and was sent to 3,500 people on the developer's mailing list last week (and will be given to future tenants of 7 World Trade as they, um, become available). "We wanted to send out a 'We're moving' card," said Dara McQuillan, marketing and communications director for Silverstein Properties, which moved its headquarters to 7 WTC two weeks ago. "He's been a friend of Tim's for a long while and they had a discussion a while ago about what they could do to let people know what sort of neighborhood downtown was becoming."  read more »

Somehow, this minor oeuvre casts Larry Silverstein in a whole new light: no longer the self-interested developer of Ground Zero, but the ambassador for the new, vibrant, mixed-use downtown that everybody (a.k.a. New York magazine) is talking about.

-Matthew Schuerman

Silverstein Properties has just announced it will have a "Freedom Tower Mobilization" tomorrow morning at 8:30. Perhaps this is what people do when they already have held a "groundbreaking" for a building but then had to put everything on hold for almost two years. Or maybe groundbreakings in general have lost their meaning at Ground Zero since they have rarely coincided with the beginning of actual work.

The press release just sent out ends with: "News trucks will not be allowed onto the site in order to accommodate mobilization of heavy construction."

These guys are serious, folks.

-Matthew Schuerman

Wait? Can it be? Has everyone finally agreed to a new deal at Ground Zero?

Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia and Executive Director Kenneth Ringler in a statement:

"We are pleased that Silverstein Properties has agreed to accept the unified proposal made by the Port Authority, Governor Pataki and Governor Corzine, and Mayor Bloomberg to rebuild the World Trade Center site. "We look forward to Silverstein Properties signing the framework proposal and, once it does, to the Port Authority Board considering the proposal at the regular monthly meeting tomorrow."

-Matthew Schuerman

Governor Pataki, in a statement, gave every indication he accepts Larry Silverstein's conditions:

"I am encouraged that Silverstein Properties has indicated that it has agreed to accept the unified plan of last week. ...

"We look forward to Silverstein Properties signing the plan. As a result of today's discussions, I have asked the Port Authority, upon signature of Silverstein Properties, to bring the conceptual framework agreed upon by myself, Governor Corzine and Mayor Bloomberg, before the Board of Commissioners for adoption tomorrow."

Waiting on word from the Port Authority--the Jersey contingent may still balk.

-Matthew Schuerman

If we are to take the latest Ground Zero proposals seriously (see below), consider this: Why is the Port Authority offering to pay more rent at the World Trade Center than it is obligated to?

The Port Authority owns the site and used to keep its headquarters in the twin towers. When they leased the buildings to Larry Silverstein, they made sure to secure a cheap rent, so they could stay on. That lease remains in effect. Here's Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman in a March 17 e-mail:

Under the Port Authority's space lease with Silverstein Properties approved on April 26, 2001, the Port Authority was entitled to 725,000 sf of office space and 110 parking spaces in 1 WTC after the net lease was finalized in July 2001. The fixed rent for the office space was $22/sf for the first five years. That rent escalated every five years through the 20-year agreement.

But under one of the proposals outlined yesterday, according to The New York Times, "[T]he city and the Port Authority are offering to lease 1.2 million square feet at market rates." At market rates? Downtown space is these days renting for about $35 a square foot annually, according to the latest Cushman & Wakefield figures.

In other words, the Port Authority will be paying about $10 a square foot more than what they are eligible to pay under the current lease with Silverstein.

-Matthew Schuerman

Larry Silverstein just issued an angry retort to the city's analysis on why he should be bought out of the World Trade Center deal. Choice line: "What the city (and the Port Authority) propose is a Soviet-style confiscation" (italics his).

Both the city and Silverstein now seem to be saying that the Libeskind site plan is bad for business. Silverstein calls the best two buildings on the site Towers 3 and 4, which are right over the PATH terminal. Unfortunately, Towers 3 and 4 are smaller than the Freedom Tower and Tower 2, and the building plan called for them to be built later.

Meanwhile, the city's Power Point presentation states that there are "emotional issues with Freedom Tower" as an explanation for "questionable occupancy demand." Finally, someone says this out loud.

The full release after the jump.  read more »

-Matthew Schuerman

At 70, developer Larry Silverstein watched his most important property, the iconic and world-famous  read more »