Port Authority negotiating with Silverstein over late fees

The Port Authority is in talks with World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein over $14 million in late fees that it racked up by missing a deadline by 48 days to hand over the site of Towers 3 and 4. The authority will likely miss its next deadline, June 30, to turn over another parcel. It’s reportedly negotiating to get the late fees waived in exchange for concessions, which could include altering the floor plates of Tower 3, which would make it more attractive to financial firms that need large trading floors. Silverstein is said to be wooing Merrill Lynch to be an anchor tenant. Towers 3 and 4 are slated to be built out by 2010 and Tower 2 is supposed to be built out by 2011. Together they will create 7.6 million square feet of office space.