“Can I give you the inside scoop?”
This was developer Larry Silverstein’s response to a question about the future of 2 World Trade Center.
He was speaking to a group of reporters at 7 World Trade Center, and as you can imagine, the answer to his question was: Yes!
Heads perked up, pens were poised. And then Silverstein, whose cadence and story-telling style sometimes sounds as if he is building up to a punchline, delivered this: “Keep tuned. Stuff is happening.” Womp womp.
Last week, TRD reported that American Express is in talks to anchor the tower, one of the final pieces of the World Trade Center development.
Silverstein was able to build 7 WTC without an anchor tenant, thanks in part to insurance money and Liberty Bonds. 2 WTC is a different story, though it shares the needs of most new office towers: a commitment from a major tenant to secure construction financing. Silverstein has struggled to find a replacement for News Corp, which walked away from a potential lease there in 2016.
Silverstein says the pitch for 2 WTC is its access to mass transportation, the fact that Lower Manhattan has become a livelier, more residential area, and overall, the quality of the buildings in the redevelopment.
In his new book, “The Rising: The Twenty-Year Battle to Rebuild the World Trade Center,” Silverstein indicates that his company has applied for federal funding to help move 2 WTC forward.
“And after more than two decades trying to get Tower Two built, I think I have found a path to getting it done,” he writes. “I am 93 years old, and the prospect is damn exciting. It makes me feel like a kid again. Or at least 70.”
What we’re thinking about: When will the City Council revive the J-51 tax break? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: The desk of Kendall Roy, the eldest boy of the Roy family in the HBO series “Succession,” is now on the 80th floor of 3 World Trade Center, as part of a temporary exhibit on that floor. The show was shot at 7 World Trade Center until the floor it was using was leased. HBO approached Silverstein about shooting in the building at a time when Rupert Murdoch was still considering leasing 2 World Trade Center for News Corp (the Murdoch family served as inspiration for “Succession”), according to Silverstein spokesperson Dara McQuillan.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Gov. Kathy Hochul’s attorneys say congestion pricing should be decided by voters, Gothamist reports. “The proper forum to debate congestion pricing is the political realm — including, ultimately, at the voting machine — not the courts,” the attorneys wrote in a court filing in response to two lawsuits challenging Hochul’s decision to pause congestion pricing.
— NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban is expected to resign, Politico New York reports. Last week, federal investigators seized Caban’s electronic devices. NBC New York reports that officials are investigating the NYPD’s nightclub enforcement.
— Joshua Agus’ development firm has inked a lease with Costco at 859 Route 17 South in Paramus for a space that Stop N Shop left in January 2022. Because of a confidentiality agreement, details of the deal have not been made public. Agus Holdings, which bought the asset in 2021, had been planning to reposition the vacant, 160,000-square-foot property, which had also lost a Kmart, a bank and a few small retailers, but rethought those plans when Costco expressed interest. The wholesale club submitted plans last month and should open in 2026.
Residential: The priciest residential sale Monday was $8 million for a 4,000-square-foot townhouse at 416 Pacific Street in Boerum Hill. Ashley Banker of the Corcoran Group had the listing.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $30 million for a hotel development site at 842 Avenue of the Americas in Nomad. The project has been billed as the world’s tallest modular hotel.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $19 million for a 6,000-square-foot co-op at 1 West 72nd Street, better known as the Dakota, on the Upper West Side. The Mackay Dixon Team at Douglas Elliman has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was 875,720 square feet for a 32-story project at 574 Fifth Avenue in Midtown. Andrew Cleary of Kohn Pedersen Fox filed the permit on behalf of Extell Development. — Matthew Elo