Tweet
September 17, 2006
U.S. and State Plan to Occupy Freedom Tower
By CHARLES V. BAGLI
The federal and New York State governments have tentatively agreed to become anchor tenants in the Freedom Tower, the tallest, most symbolic and most scrutinized skyscraper project at ground zero, under a plan expected to be announced today by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the governors of New York and New Jersey.
The agreements, which would cover about 1 million of the 2.6 million square feet in the building, are a significant step forward in the development of the tower, which is seen by Gov. George E. Pataki and others as a symbol of the city’s resilience, but regarded by some critics as folly.
The building has been bedeviled by squabbling and delays, as well as questions about design and security and whether there would be enough demand for office space downtown to keep it financially sound.
The Freedom Tower, which would rise to the emblematic height of 1,776 feet, including the antenna, is one of four office towers planned for the 16-acre site.
With the governor and the mayor eager to show progress five years after the terrorist attack on the trade center, the lease agreements would be the latest in a flurry of announcements, which included a tentative agreement in April to speed the reconstruction of the site and the creation in May of a $500 million plan for a memorial to the victims of the attack.
But significant questions remain about the lease agreements, including whether they would actually become signed contracts. The federal leases need Congressional approval, and the state leases would require approval by the governor, comptroller and attorney general.
The leading candidate to succeed Mr. Pataki, Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic attorney general, has questioned the economic viability of the tower, calling it a “white elephant.” His campaign declined to comment on the agreements.
Officials sought to lure public agencies to the Freedom Tower when they failed to interest any private companies. Critics say one major concern is that the building will be a target for terrorists, but state officials have said that the tower, after a recent redesign at the behest of the police department, is safe.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, and the Pataki administration have signed an outline of lease terms with the State Office of General Services on a 15-year lease for 415,000 square feet of space in the Freedom Tower. General Services is likely to move the State Labor Department, as well as the Insurance and Finance Departments, into the tower.
State officials said they expected to sign a formal lease in the coming months and have the option of taking as much as 1 million square feet in the future.
The federal General Services Administration has signed a memorandum of agreement to move the Customs and Border Protection agency, as well as other federal agencies, into more than 600,000 square feet.
The agencies have tentatively agreed to pay an initial annual rent of $59 per square foot, or about $59 million a year, at the building, which is scheduled to open in 2012.
“I was very confident from the beginning that it could work,” Mr. Pataki said in an interview. “Now with this commitment of 1 million square feet of leases, it is clearly not just economically viable, but now it will be built and it will be occupied. We will have a new tower that sends a powerful message of restoration and resurgence.”
Both Gov. Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey and Mayor Bloomberg issued statements hailing the agreements as a significant step toward restoring the World Trade Center site as a commercial hub in Lower Manhattan.
The tentative agreements reflect progress in Governor Pataki’s nearly four-year effort to build the Freedom Tower. But final approval of the project by the Port Authority may be months away, which could put it in the hands of the next New York governor, who takes office in January.
When the Port Authority agreed in April to take over responsibility for building the $2.3 billion tower from the developer Larry A. Silverstein, it set several conditions. The authority, which leased the property to Mr. Silverstein, was seeking a viable financial plan, including signed leases for 1 million square feet in the Freedom Tower by the time its board meets on Thursday.
The authority expects to get $973 million in insurance proceeds from the destruction of the twin towers, as well as $250 million from the Pataki administration, but it wanted a cash flow from leases to pay its mortgage.
“We’re pleased with the progress that’s been made regarding the commitments by state and federal agencies at the Freedom Tower,” said Anthony R. Coscia, chairman of the authority. “We’re hopeful that we will be able to develop an acceptable plan of finance that will allow its construction to proceed uninterrupted and in a manner that’s financially responsible to the Port Authority, the city and the region.”
Mr. Coscia said it was unlikely that the Port Authority would grant final approval of the Freedom Tower project on Thursday, but he said it would probably go forward with the development of three office towers on the eastern side of the site, along Church Street. The Freedom Tower would sit at the northwest corner of the trade center site on West Street, south of Vesey Street. It has had a somewhat tortured history. The architect Daniel Libeskind’s initial master plan for rebuilding the trade center site recommended building the memorial to the victims of Sept. 11 first, the Church Street towers second, and the tallest tower in the third phase. Mr. Silverstein, who had an obligation to rebuild the trade center complex, also argued that it made sense to start with the towers closest to the PATH station on Church Street.
But at a downtown breakfast meeting more than three years ago, Mr. Pataki named the tallest of the proposed buildings at ground zero the Freedom Tower. He said it would be built first and by 2008. That time goal has been abandoned, but the desire to build the skyscraper remains.
The design for the building was selected by Governor Pataki after he overruled a committee that had chosen a different architectural scheme. But then it had to be redrawn to accommodate the Police Department’s security concerns, because the building would sit on West Street. The design now calls for a 186-foot-tall fortified concrete base sheathed in prismatic glass. Work on the foundation and footings has begun.
Urban planners, civic groups and some real estate executives have questioned the wisdom of building the Freedom Tower, which, they say, is too expensive, farther away from the transportation hub than the other towers, and is unlikely to attract corporate tenants, most of which regard the skyscraper as a potential target for terrorists. Indeed, the Port Authority declined to move into the building, saying it would be traumatic for its employees, who lost 84 coworkers in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Under the standard of 250 square feet per worker, the space under consideration could accommodate 4,000 government employees. Officials of the unions representing federal and state workers could not be reached for comment yesterday.
“It’s going to be one of the most expensive buildings ever built in Manhattan,” said the developer Douglas Durst, who owns a number of Midtown office buildings and is building a skyscraper on 42nd Street. “To saddle already overburdened taxpayers of New York with the rent necessary to pay for it makes no sense at all.”
Critics say that current plans to build more than eight million square feet of office space at the trade center site recall the plans for the original complex, which depressed the downtown real estate market for years when the Port Authority built 10 million square feet of publicly-subsidized office space at one time.
With few tenant prospects, the Port Authority and the state were forced to fill much of the space with public agencies. It was not until the mid-1980’s that the state began relocating to other buildings.
Some real estate executives said the government agencies will be paying a premium over the lower rents in older buildings downtown. But John Cahill, who oversees ground zero development for Governor Pataki, said that the Freedom Tower would have more-efficient floors that would allow for technological innovation and consolidation.
Although it is not a formal lease, Mr. Cahill said that Governor Pataki had gotten a “firm commitment from the White House” that the Customs Service would return to the trade center site. He added that the agreement with the federal General Services Administration and the state agencies should “enhance the attractiveness” of the Freedom Tower to corporate tenants.
There may also be a financial incentive, since about $345 million in insurance proceeds from the destruction of the old Customs building can be used to build its space in the Freedom Tower. State officials said they did not think that the money could be transferred elsewhere.
Lurita Doan, administrator of the General Services Administration, said in a statement that “the return of the federal government to Lower Manhattan and their presence in the Freedom Tower is more than symbolic; it is a commitment to the building of a memorial that captures the American spirit.”
Governor Pataki said that all the signature elements of the trade center master plan are now in place, from the $2.2 billion PATH train station to the memorial, the office buildings and the Freedom Tower.
Some officials involved in rebuilding say that the final decision may go to the next governor. “We’re six to months away from the point that we’re full steam ahead,” said a senior executive, who requested anonymity because he did not want a public spat with Governor Pataki.
The governor said he was confident that nothing could stop construction of the Freedom Tower.
“The commitments we’re making now will apply into the future,” he said. “I’m very confident that the brilliance of the plan and the momentum with actual construction will continue regardless of who the next governor is.”
Under the April agreement, between New York State, New York City, New Jersey and Mr. Silverstein, the Port Authority took responsibility for the Freedom Tower, which, officials said, Mr. Silverstein was reluctant to build without any anchor tenants. The developer, in turn, retained the right to build three towers along Church Street.
But he was put on a strict schedule requiring him to complete the buildings by 2012.
State and Port Authority executives have been working round the clock in recent weeks with Mr. Silverstein to complete the agreement struck in April. Both sides say they have made considerable progress in narrowing their differences.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
It's about fucking time! It's only been five years now."
U.S. and State Plan to Occupy Freedom Tower
By CHARLES V. BAGLI
The federal and New York State governments have tentatively agreed to become anchor tenants in the Freedom Tower, the tallest, most symbolic and most scrutinized skyscraper project at ground zero, under a plan expected to be announced today by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the governors of New York and New Jersey.
The agreements, which would cover about 1 million of the 2.6 million square feet in the building, are a significant step forward in the development of the tower, which is seen by Gov. George E. Pataki and others as a symbol of the city’s resilience, but regarded by some critics as folly.
The building has been bedeviled by squabbling and delays, as well as questions about design and security and whether there would be enough demand for office space downtown to keep it financially sound.
The Freedom Tower, which would rise to the emblematic height of 1,776 feet, including the antenna, is one of four office towers planned for the 16-acre site.
With the governor and the mayor eager to show progress five years after the terrorist attack on the trade center, the lease agreements would be the latest in a flurry of announcements, which included a tentative agreement in April to speed the reconstruction of the site and the creation in May of a $500 million plan for a memorial to the victims of the attack.
But significant questions remain about the lease agreements, including whether they would actually become signed contracts. The federal leases need Congressional approval, and the state leases would require approval by the governor, comptroller and attorney general.
The leading candidate to succeed Mr. Pataki, Eliot Spitzer, the Democratic attorney general, has questioned the economic viability of the tower, calling it a “white elephant.” His campaign declined to comment on the agreements.
Officials sought to lure public agencies to the Freedom Tower when they failed to interest any private companies. Critics say one major concern is that the building will be a target for terrorists, but state officials have said that the tower, after a recent redesign at the behest of the police department, is safe.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, and the Pataki administration have signed an outline of lease terms with the State Office of General Services on a 15-year lease for 415,000 square feet of space in the Freedom Tower. General Services is likely to move the State Labor Department, as well as the Insurance and Finance Departments, into the tower.
State officials said they expected to sign a formal lease in the coming months and have the option of taking as much as 1 million square feet in the future.
The federal General Services Administration has signed a memorandum of agreement to move the Customs and Border Protection agency, as well as other federal agencies, into more than 600,000 square feet.
The agencies have tentatively agreed to pay an initial annual rent of $59 per square foot, or about $59 million a year, at the building, which is scheduled to open in 2012.
“I was very confident from the beginning that it could work,” Mr. Pataki said in an interview. “Now with this commitment of 1 million square feet of leases, it is clearly not just economically viable, but now it will be built and it will be occupied. We will have a new tower that sends a powerful message of restoration and resurgence.”
Both Gov. Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey and Mayor Bloomberg issued statements hailing the agreements as a significant step toward restoring the World Trade Center site as a commercial hub in Lower Manhattan.
The tentative agreements reflect progress in Governor Pataki’s nearly four-year effort to build the Freedom Tower. But final approval of the project by the Port Authority may be months away, which could put it in the hands of the next New York governor, who takes office in January.
When the Port Authority agreed in April to take over responsibility for building the $2.3 billion tower from the developer Larry A. Silverstein, it set several conditions. The authority, which leased the property to Mr. Silverstein, was seeking a viable financial plan, including signed leases for 1 million square feet in the Freedom Tower by the time its board meets on Thursday.
The authority expects to get $973 million in insurance proceeds from the destruction of the twin towers, as well as $250 million from the Pataki administration, but it wanted a cash flow from leases to pay its mortgage.
“We’re pleased with the progress that’s been made regarding the commitments by state and federal agencies at the Freedom Tower,” said Anthony R. Coscia, chairman of the authority. “We’re hopeful that we will be able to develop an acceptable plan of finance that will allow its construction to proceed uninterrupted and in a manner that’s financially responsible to the Port Authority, the city and the region.”
Mr. Coscia said it was unlikely that the Port Authority would grant final approval of the Freedom Tower project on Thursday, but he said it would probably go forward with the development of three office towers on the eastern side of the site, along Church Street. The Freedom Tower would sit at the northwest corner of the trade center site on West Street, south of Vesey Street. It has had a somewhat tortured history. The architect Daniel Libeskind’s initial master plan for rebuilding the trade center site recommended building the memorial to the victims of Sept. 11 first, the Church Street towers second, and the tallest tower in the third phase. Mr. Silverstein, who had an obligation to rebuild the trade center complex, also argued that it made sense to start with the towers closest to the PATH station on Church Street.
But at a downtown breakfast meeting more than three years ago, Mr. Pataki named the tallest of the proposed buildings at ground zero the Freedom Tower. He said it would be built first and by 2008. That time goal has been abandoned, but the desire to build the skyscraper remains.
The design for the building was selected by Governor Pataki after he overruled a committee that had chosen a different architectural scheme. But then it had to be redrawn to accommodate the Police Department’s security concerns, because the building would sit on West Street. The design now calls for a 186-foot-tall fortified concrete base sheathed in prismatic glass. Work on the foundation and footings has begun.
Urban planners, civic groups and some real estate executives have questioned the wisdom of building the Freedom Tower, which, they say, is too expensive, farther away from the transportation hub than the other towers, and is unlikely to attract corporate tenants, most of which regard the skyscraper as a potential target for terrorists. Indeed, the Port Authority declined to move into the building, saying it would be traumatic for its employees, who lost 84 coworkers in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Under the standard of 250 square feet per worker, the space under consideration could accommodate 4,000 government employees. Officials of the unions representing federal and state workers could not be reached for comment yesterday.
“It’s going to be one of the most expensive buildings ever built in Manhattan,” said the developer Douglas Durst, who owns a number of Midtown office buildings and is building a skyscraper on 42nd Street. “To saddle already overburdened taxpayers of New York with the rent necessary to pay for it makes no sense at all.”
Critics say that current plans to build more than eight million square feet of office space at the trade center site recall the plans for the original complex, which depressed the downtown real estate market for years when the Port Authority built 10 million square feet of publicly-subsidized office space at one time.
With few tenant prospects, the Port Authority and the state were forced to fill much of the space with public agencies. It was not until the mid-1980’s that the state began relocating to other buildings.
Some real estate executives said the government agencies will be paying a premium over the lower rents in older buildings downtown. But John Cahill, who oversees ground zero development for Governor Pataki, said that the Freedom Tower would have more-efficient floors that would allow for technological innovation and consolidation.
Although it is not a formal lease, Mr. Cahill said that Governor Pataki had gotten a “firm commitment from the White House” that the Customs Service would return to the trade center site. He added that the agreement with the federal General Services Administration and the state agencies should “enhance the attractiveness” of the Freedom Tower to corporate tenants.
There may also be a financial incentive, since about $345 million in insurance proceeds from the destruction of the old Customs building can be used to build its space in the Freedom Tower. State officials said they did not think that the money could be transferred elsewhere.
Lurita Doan, administrator of the General Services Administration, said in a statement that “the return of the federal government to Lower Manhattan and their presence in the Freedom Tower is more than symbolic; it is a commitment to the building of a memorial that captures the American spirit.”
Governor Pataki said that all the signature elements of the trade center master plan are now in place, from the $2.2 billion PATH train station to the memorial, the office buildings and the Freedom Tower.
Some officials involved in rebuilding say that the final decision may go to the next governor. “We’re six to months away from the point that we’re full steam ahead,” said a senior executive, who requested anonymity because he did not want a public spat with Governor Pataki.
The governor said he was confident that nothing could stop construction of the Freedom Tower.
“The commitments we’re making now will apply into the future,” he said. “I’m very confident that the brilliance of the plan and the momentum with actual construction will continue regardless of who the next governor is.”
Under the April agreement, between New York State, New York City, New Jersey and Mr. Silverstein, the Port Authority took responsibility for the Freedom Tower, which, officials said, Mr. Silverstein was reluctant to build without any anchor tenants. The developer, in turn, retained the right to build three towers along Church Street.
But he was put on a strict schedule requiring him to complete the buildings by 2012.
State and Port Authority executives have been working round the clock in recent weeks with Mr. Silverstein to complete the agreement struck in April. Both sides say they have made considerable progress in narrowing their differences.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
It's about fucking time! It's only been five years now."
Comment