From the May issue: The stories of two of Larry Silverstein’s World Trade Center towers — one long completed, and one still under construction — told two sides of the office leasing market last month.
Showing the renewed strength in the market, Silverstein’s five-year-old 7 World Trade Center lured the law firm WilmerHale, which was shut out of Midtown’s Worldwide Plaza, to lease 210,000 square feet.
But illustrating that the leasing market, and the economy in general, are not yet in the clear, a $900 million bond offering for Silverstein’s 2.3 million-square-foot 4 World Trade Center, which is under construction, was postponed.
Nonetheless, a closer look at the Manhattan leasing market last month may provide comfort to landlords, who have been raising asking rents recently — even as businesses are pessimistic about a weak housing market and unrest overseas. [more]
