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Last August, after Port Authority officials demanded he show them a financial plan, Mr. Silverstein and consultants from the financial services firm Morgan Stanley made a presentation to the Port Authority's commissioners that was met with deep skepticism from several board members, according to officials at the authority. The commissioners questioned the rents that Mr. Silverstein projected for his new buildings. They also believed that he was overly optimistic in predicting that he would be able to fill the buildings with tenants in a relatively short time, something that would be critical to his ability to pay the agency its rent and secure further financing.
Deal Is Struck on Property Needed for Trade Center (June 5, 2005)
That lingering concern colored the Port Authority's latest exploration of how to reduce Mr. Silverstein's role at ground zero. As the security concerns over the Freedom Tower began percolating this spring, top Port Authority officials, including the executive director, Kenneth J. Ringler, the chairman, Anthony Coscia, and Vice Chairman Charles A. Gargano, discussed an informal proposal to divvy up the site, according to officials at the agency.
The idea, the officials said, would be to have Mr. Silverstein build the Freedom Tower and a second office tower across Greenwich Street. Then, in exchange for a reduction in the developer's lease payments, the Port Authority would get control of the site of two future towers on Church Street, south of the planned PATH train station at Fulton Street, which the agency is building at a cost of more than $2 billion.
That would give the Port Authority more of a free hand in developing the retail component over a large swath of the site. It would also, the officials contend, allow them to build a pair of low buildings to house some of the retail space, bring back street life and ultimately serve as the place holders for office buildings that could be erected when there is more demand for commercial space in Lower Manhattan.