Silverstein Threatens Arbitration Over WTC Dispute
By VICTORIA CAVALIERE
Updated 4:04 PM EST, Mon, Jul 6, 2009
The developer of the World Trade Center has quit negotiations over financing for two new towers and is threatening go to arbitration to settle a months-long impasse to rebuild Ground Zero.
Larry Silverstein said today he will go to the arbitrator if he and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, can't work out their differences in two weeks.
Silverstein has had difficulty finding financing in the current real estate market and wants the Port Authority to guarantee as much as $3.2 billion in financing for two of the towers.
The Port Authority says it will back one tower with about $800 million in return for Silverstein's investing additional money in building the infrastructure at the 16-acre site, which includes the office towers, a transit hub and a Sept. 11 memorial.
The impasse threatens to stall construction of the memorial ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Silverstein leased the twin towers six weeks before they collapsed in 2001.
The squabbling is one of many obstacles facing redevelopment in the area. A report issued earlier this year found that the World Trade Center Transportation Hub could cost nearly 30 percent more than was projected less than a year ago.
The Federal Transit Administration study estimated there's a 50-50 likelihood that the project could cost $3.8 billion, an overrun of $600 million.
There's also a 10-percent chance that the project will cost as much as $5.4 billion, but a PA spokesman said construction-cost escalation is not a problem, adding that some supplies were coming in at or even below budget.
The change in plans was just the latest in a project that's been rife with delays. The current target is now June 2014, but that same FTA study said there's a 50-50 chance of a November 2014 completion, maybe even May 2015, The Daily News reported.
First Published: Jul 6, 2009 2:51 PM EST
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