State induces $1.67b in Liberty Bonds for WTC

Real Estate Weekly, June 21, 2006 by Tim Moran

Plans for construction of three World Trade Center towers on Greenwich Street came closer to fruition last week with an announcement that officials would induce $1.67 billion in Liberty Bonds for the construction of World Trade Centers II, III and IV.

Empire State Development Chairman Charles A. Gargano's announcement of the inducement was a concrete piece of good news in a week that saw speculation over the future of plans for both the Freedom Tower and the World Trade Center Memorial.

"This announcement marks another huge step forward in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan," Chairman Gargano said of the inducement. "Under Governor Pataki's leadership, we have been working hard to attract businesses, visitors and commerce to the downtown area, thereby aiding in the rebuilding process. We expect that this inducement will not only help leaseholder Larry A. Silverstein finalize the balance of his financing, but will facilitate the expenditure of funds at the World Trade Center site and accelerate real progress of construction."

In July, the City is expected to induce an additional $920,950,000 in Liberty Bonds for Towers II, III, and IV. Liberty Bonds are low-cost, tax-exempt bond financing for major projects in Lower Manhattan and New York City. The $8-billion bond issuance program was set up in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

"Today's action on the State's remaining Liberty Bonds is another step forward in the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. We thank Governor Pataki and Chairman Gargano and look forward to the City's inducement in July," said Bud Perrone, a spokesman for Larry Silverstein. "We are working aggressively to design the three Greenwich Street towers and, with financing in place, will begin construction of those towers as soon as the sites are made available."

Meanwhile at Ground Zero, speculation continues to fly over the fate of the Freedom Tower, where infighting continues between site developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority (see REW page one). Below the would-be 1,776-foot tower, at the proposed September 11 Memorial, construction czar Frank Sciame continues to try to cut costs for the Michael Arad-designed project down from an estimated $1 billion to $500 million. Last week, Sciame met behind closed doors with Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg to discuss the plans.

"Frank Sciame has done an enormous amount of work and made an informative presentation to the Governor and Mayor this afternoon," spokespeople for the governor and the mayor wrote in a joint statement Friday. "The Governor and Mayor's Offices are reviewing the analysis, and we expect a written report to be available next week."

With funding coming into place, architects Richard Rogers and Fumihiko Maki continue design work on World Trade Centers III and IV respectively. The proposed construction start date for Towers III and IV is the second half of 2007. Architect Lord Norman Foster continues work on Tower II, set to start construction in late 2008.