Port Authority plans public-private ‘hybrid’ to fund 3 W.T.C.
Ryan Hutchins
The Port Authority on Wednesday all but abandoned an arrangement to double the public subsidy for Larry Silverstein's long-stalled 3 World Trade Center project, choosing instead to pursue negotiations with private-sector financing groups that would likely demand an ownership stake in the tower.
Officials said the outside interest had only materialized in recent months and would now be the focus of the bistate agency's staff. The decision by the Port's commissioners, announced prior to a meeting in which the $1.2 billion financing package was to be voted on, appeared to rile Silverstein, who said he was taken aback by it. He said he had agreed to everything the bistate agency had asked for in the month since the board delayed voting on the deal.
“Over the past month we felt we had made substantial progress on the terms of a 3 World Trade Center agreement,” Silverstein said in a written statement. “Having agreed to the requests conveyed by Port Authority leadership, we are surprised that the discussions did not yield a successful resolution. We remain committed to working with the Port Authority to reach an agreement that accomplishes our shared mission of building 3 W.T.C.”
Agency leaders, however, said the decision was consistent with what they said last month: That any new financing arrangement must benefit both the Port Authority and the private sector; must mitigate risks to the agency; and must provide fair compensation to the Port.
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/real-estate/2014/05/8546173/port-authority-plans-public-private-hybrid-fund-3-wtc?top-featured-1
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