Proposed trading center scrapped

Real Estate Weekly, March 14, 2001 by Natalie Keith

Goldman Sachs pulls the plug on Water Street plan

The Goldman Saclis Group has reportedly cancelled plans to build a $850 million trading structure at 55 Water St. on the site of a large downtown public plaza, according to published reports.

The company had recently presented plans to the city's Planning Commission, but decided to with withdraw from the project because of business considerations. The company's decision puts 1.38 million SF at the site back on the market. It will be vacated in 2003 by J.P. Morgan Chase & Company, according to a report in The New York Times.

Under the Goldman Sachs proposal, the public plaza would have been replaced by a 240-foot-high building with at least seven trading floors. An existing 15-story office tower on the plaza would have been altered and expanded.

The proposed new building would have been joined to a 53-story tower on the southern half of the complex, which also includes part of Vietnam Veterans Plaza. To make up for the loss of the plaza, Goldman Sachs proposed to buy unused development rights from the low-rise South Street Seaport district.

It also proposed to build a 1,300-foot stretch of East River esplanade, to landscape a public plaza along Water Street and to contribute to the reconstruction of Vietnam Veterans Plaza.

According to Edward Kulik Jr., head of real estate for the Retirement Systems of Alabama which owns 55 Water St., other tenants have expressed interest in the site since Goldman Sachs announced that it was scrapping its plans.

He added that the Retirement Systems of Alabama is still interested in pursuing development plans for 55 Water St.

The city's Economic Development Corporation said it was not concerned about Goldman Sachs' decision, saying it opens up a large block of space for another potential user.