Publishing giant Conde Nast is likely to finalize its 1 million-square-foot lease at One World Trade Center by March, developer Douglas Durst told Crain’s today. The Durst Organization has a deal with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to buy a $100 million stake in the tower, and scored a major coup last year when the magazine behemoth agreed to relocate from 4 Times Square, which Durst also owns. The only tenant to actually sign a lease at the 2.6 million-square-foot project thus far is China’s Vantone Industrial, but Durst said two government agencies are also in negotiations to lease a combined 1 million square feet. [more]

Over 2,000 people attended the Real Estate Board of New York’s annual banquet last Thursday night (see a story on the affair here). The Real Deal milled around the event, held at the New York Hilton, and chatted with real estate pros and politicians — from City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to Mary Ann Tighe, chairman of REBNY & CEO of CBRE’s tri-state region, to Bruce Mosler, chairman of global brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield, to developers Joseph Moinian and Douglas Durst among others — about what they are seeing going on in the marketplace (see video above). The Real Deal also captured some protesters that were on the scene. 
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Top: Protesters at the REBNY event; bottom, from left: Mary Ann Tighe, Douglas Durst and Rob Speyer

The Real Estate Board of New York’s annual banquet — the most high-profile event of the year for the industry — last night was marred by the shouts of protesters.

A group of about 30 people inside the New York Hilton, where the glitzy event was being held, chanted: “Hey you millionaires, pay your fair share!”

Before being escorted off the property by hotel staff, the protesters handed out fliers stating their opposition to the Committee to Save New York, a group of business leaders formed in support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign to oppose tax increases, reduce the size of government and reform Medicaid and pensions for public employees. Donors to the committee include a number of prominent real estate figures, including Tishman Speyer Properties and the Durst Organization. Tishman Speyer’s Rob Speyer is the co-chair of the committee’s board of directors, which also includes REBNY President Steven Spinola and REBNY Chairman Mary Ann Tighe. Tighe, Spinola, Rob Speyer and Douglas Durst all attended the banquet. [more]

Developers Douglas Durst and Harold Fetner are set to break ground on a $350 million skyscraper on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 30th Street, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Durst Fetner partnership will begin construction within a year, as they conclude negotiations with Pelli Clarke Pelli, the team behind another high-profile planned Midtown tower, 15 Penn Plaza. Durst Fetner Residential, which closed on the construction in late December 2010, was angling to buy the site for six years, sources say. [more]

Douglas Durst and the Durst Organization are threatening legal action against film distributor Magnolia Pictures, according Deadline New York, in an effort to block the release of “All Good Things,” a film purportedly based on Douglas Durst’s brother Robert Durst, and the 1982 disappearance of his wife (see trailer above). Durst attorney Richard Emery wrote to Magnolia last month that “the current version of the film defames the Durst[s] and the Durst Organization” and that his clients will “file the action after the film has been released and run its course so that our lawsuit will not aid the film’s promotion.” The film falsely depicts the Dursts and Durst Organization as “criminal collaborators in the prostitution and drug rings that plagued Time Square in the 1970s” Emery said. [Deadline New York]

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Douglas Durst

Developer Douglas Durst’s decision last week to invest up to $300 million in One World Trade Center after originally criticizing the project is just one example of his “opportunistic, trailblazing approach” that has made him one of the city’s most successful developers, Crain’s said. In the past year, Durst, along with partner Bank of America, completed the city’s second-tallest building — One Bryant Park — and also refinanced the $1.3 billion property twice, despite the worst credit crunch in decades. His company, the Durst Organization, also lined up a $200 million credit line to purchase distressed real estate assets and has already used some of it to snap up mortgages on two Manhattan development sites. Meanwhile, Durst — who says he prefers a low-key approach to the industry — also bought a prewar property on Fifth Avenue for $42 million with a partner and plans to turn it into a condo. The Durst Organization also won praise for its redevelopment of 4 Times Square, where the company secured publisher Condé Nast as the anchor tenant. [Crain's]

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The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has approved the terms of the Durst Organization’s partnership deal for a 10 percent stake in 1 World Trade Center, the New York Times reported. The Dursts will pay $100 million — a number that could rise to $300 million in the future — for their share of the $3.3 billion, 1,776-foot-tall tower, for which the developers will head up the leasing and property management efforts once the deal is complete. Just a few days ago, publishing giant Condé Nast tentatively signed on to move its headquarters to 1 World Trade Center in 2014 from another of Durst’s Manhattan skyscrapers at 4 Times Square, though Durst was reportedly not involved in the Condé Nast negotiations. [NYT]

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The Durst Organization has won the bidding for a stake in One World Trade Center, beating out Stephen Ross and his Related Companies for the chance to invest in the planned 1,776-foot-tall tower,
the Observer reported. The board of the Port Authority of New York
& New Jersey, which is building the tower, came to the decision at
a meeting yesterday, pending a 30-day negotiation period during which a
contract will be drafted. Durst, which is expected to invest about $100
million in the project, was once a staunch critic of the tower, having
publicly chided it as “the legacy of poor planning and decision-making
by the Pataki administration.” But Durst’s pitch was ultimately the
more traditional of the two finalists: Related’s proposal
included amenities like fitness centers, similar to those of the
company’s Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle. In a statement, Durst
president Jody Durst called the rebuilding of the World Trade Center
Site “perhaps, the most complex building project ever undertaken,”
adding, “the building is a symbol of New York’s resilience and strength
and we have tremendous confidence in its future success.” Ross
expressed disappointment following the announcement: “While we are
disappointed and thought we offered a great vision for this iconic
destination development and Lower Manhattan we wish the Port Authority
and their new partner well,” he said in a statement. [NYO]

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Fox News charges Related-Middle East connection, but developer not alone in financial ties

From left: Douglas Durst of the Durst Organization, Stephen Ross of the Related Companies

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has narrowed a star-studded roster of bidders for One World Trade Center down to two, and now there’s just one week left to go before the agency is expected to make its final pick. But as the Related Companies and the Durst Organization duke it out for the coveted partnership with the Port Authority, the foreign capital that has been touted as [more]

Fox News charges Related-Middle East connection, but developer not alone in financial ties

From left: Douglas Durst of the Durst Organization, Stephen Ross of the Related Companies

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has narrowed a star-studded roster of bidders for One World Trade Center down to two, and now there’s just one week left to go before the agency is expected to make its final pick. But as the Related Companies and the Durst Organization duke it out for the coveted partnership with the Port Authority, the foreign capital that has been touted as [more]