A plan to recreate a Windows on the World-style restaurant atop 1 World Trade Center has been scrapped by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which believes the space will be more financially viable if used in another way. The long-planned restaurant, once slated to take up several floors of the 1,776-foot-tall tower, was later scaled down to just one in order to cut costs. But according to the Post, its construction and design proved to be unaffordable even at that size, and the Port Authority was skeptical that it would be able to find a restaurateur willing to take it on. [more]

The stainless steel and glass panels on the façade of One World Trade Center will be erected next month to cover the skyscraper formerly known as the Freedom Tower, according to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. Materials for the 20th through 24th floors are on their way to Lower Manhattan, DNAinfo reported. The 1,766-foot tower, designed by David Childs, features eight tall triangles of glass and steel, which grow alternately narrower and wider as they approach the building’s peak, forming an octagon halfway up the tower. “Its overall effect is that of a crystalline form that captures an ever?evolving display of refracted light,” said Childs’ firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, in a statement.
“As the sun moves through the sky or we move around the tower, the surfaces appear like a kaleidoscope, and will change throughout the day as light and weather conditions change.” The $3.2 billion building is slated to open in 2013. [DNAinfo]

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The Donald paid a visit to “The Late Show with David Letterman“ last night to talk about development at and around the site of the former Twin Towers. Naturally, much of the conversation focused on the proposed mosque nearby, which Trump has repeatedly denounced as “insensitive.” He argued that from a public relations standpoint, the developers behind the project would be met with “good will” from the public if they agreed to move to an alternate location. His views were met with audience applause, but then, so were Letterman‘s — that religious freedom is a “fundamental building block” of this country.

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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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From left: Douglas Durst, a rendering of One World Trade Center, Stephen Ross

With Boston Properties out of the picture in the bidding for a partnership stake in the 1,776-foot-tall One World Trade Center, just the Durst Organization and the Related Companies are left vying for the spot. “It’s a runoff between two different prototypes in the New York industry,” Kathryn Wylde, chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s the family-owned, multigenerational firm that the Dursts have built up on the one hand…and a model for an international, professionally run real-estate firm that Steve Ross has built at Related.” The board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will ultimately pick the winner, which will manage and market the building’s 2.6 million square feet of office space — about 1 million of which is already spoken for by government agencies — and will invest at least $100 million in the Ground Zero project formerly known as the Freedom Tower. The board is slated to meet with each developer over the next two weeks and to reach a decision by June 22. [WSJ] 

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Reddy Kancharla, the president of Testwell Laboratories, was sentenced today to seven to 21 years in prison, after being convicted
of faking results on building materials for close to 120 construction projects in and around the city. The new Yankee Stadium, Ground Zero’s Freedom Tower and at least two dozen other buildings had to be retested because of the crimes. Twice during the case, Kancharla allegedly tried to commit suicide, most recently on the eve of his initial sentencing last month. Wearing a neck brace, he told a Manhattan jury that he was “not a criminal mastermind” and that the case had been a nightmare for him. [AP via Crain's]

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Peter Riguardi, president of Jones Lang LaSalle’s New York operations, isn’t worried about furthering the glut of Manhattan office space with the addition of Ground Zero office space including One World Trade Center, where his firm is handling negotiations with prospective naming partners. “I think this market has flourished around 420 million square feet,” Riguardi said. “It could easily add 10 million or more to it.” A decision on whether the Durst Organization, Boston Properties, the Related Companies or Hines Interests will win the coveted partnership will likely come by the summer, he added. [NYT] 

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The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey is looking to drum up interest among Europeans for space in 1 World Trade Center, according to the Observer. Chris Ward, executive director for the agency, is planning to tour London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam next week with Tara Stacom of Cushman & Wakefield. The pair will be marketing the tower — in which Boston Properties is reportedly nearing a deal for a $120 million stake — as a potential home for international firms. [NYO] 

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The emotional significance of the World Trade Center site led many to have unrealistic expectations for the redevelopment project, said Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. Speaking at a forum hosted by Crain’s yesterday, Ward applauded Larry Silverstein for having poured the foundations for two of his buildings at the site and said the Port Authority was looking to pick a development partner for 1 World Trade Center by June. [more]