Rebuild on World Trade Center site hit by credit crunch
Redevelopment of Ground Zero, the site of the twin towers destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attack are stalling on a financial argument between the developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Bloomberg reports.
The authority has demanded Silverstein put up cash before it gives him financial assistance to build at the World Trade Center site, Bloomberg claimed.
Silverstein is being asked to put equity into the project after he sought agency guarantees for construction financing on two of the three towers he wants to build there.
Authority Director Christopher Ward said: “The Port Authority is not recession-proof. Mr. Silverstein understands that and respects that, and will strike a bargain to bring on the site as the market sees fit.”
Silverstein and his partners are responsible under a 2006 agreement with the authority to build three towers for about $6bn. The agency, owner of the 16-acre Trade Center site, is building and financing the 1,776-foot, $3.1bn Freedom Tower.
