The ever-troubled Deutsche Bank building at Ground Zero seems to be moving a bit closer to deconstruction, as the state announced today that it has approved an abatement plan for the tower at 130 Liberty Street.

After a fire at the building killed two firefighters this summer, the deconstruction of the damaged tower was put on hold while officials sorted through the high-profile mess. On top of being strongly associated with the fatal fire and a couple other attention-grabbing accidents at the site, one of the subcontractors on the job, John Galt, was tainted by scandal and mob ties, as the Times revealed, and was booted off the deconstruction team.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation then selected a new general contractor last month, LVI Services, Inc., which plans to mostly remove asbestos before dismantling the building.  read more »

Almost five months after a deadly fire halted deconstruction on the former Deutsche Bank building at Ground Zero, the state has picked a new contractor to oversee its demolition, New York-based LVI Services (which also specializes in controlling the “superbug” bacteria … just in case).

Ironically, LVI was originally slated to be involved in the deconstruction of the building, though a deal with it and lead contractor Bovis Lend Lease fell apart, according to an August article in The New York Times. As a result of the failed deal, Bovis brought on board the John Galt Corporation, the company that has reportedly come under investigation for the fire on Aug. 18 that killed two firefighters. The Times has more on John Galt here.  read more »

The Paramount Group paid more than $500 million for Deutsche Bank’s tower of approximately 700,000 square feet at 31 West 52nd Street, according to a source, bringing the German bank’s tower into the hands of a German landlord.  read more »