Janno Lieber

Almost as if to say, “Really—we aren’t upset,” Silverstein Properties has issued an addendum to its earlier statement on the Port Authority’s excavation delays for Towers 3 and 4 at the World Trade Center site, showering even more praise on the Port Authority.  read more »

One is tall, while the other is, well, sort of on the short side. One's all business, while the other has a government background. One has got a reputation for bluntness, while the other is diplomatic--or at least up to a point. Here's Janno Lieber, Larry Silverstein's public persona, as quoted in a Real Deal profile this month:

"We're dealing with people from the Port Authority who've never designed an office building," he said. "They take some words they don't understand and write them in a legal document. We have to explain to them that what they've written down would take 18 months to complete, not four."

-Matthew Schuerman

The developer met with Port Authority officials today and gave a news conference later, saying he agreed to give up the Freedom Tower--after building it for a fee--and Tower 5. He said he was hewing closely to the joint state-city-Port Authority offer last week, but he added some conditions...like getting the Port Authority to ratify the deal before September and making sure that he is not held responsible if someone else causes delays.

His project manager, Janno Lieber, told reporters, "The Freedom Tower is ready to begin as soon as the relocation of utilities takes place and as soon as the agreement is reached. We could start tomorrow, or in a matter of days."

Mayor Bloomberg, asked shortly afterwards, seemed willing to pretend that Silverstein was agreeing even though these details could prove trickier than they first appear. "He apparently gave a speech today saying that that's what he would do and that's great," he said, according to a transcript provided by the Mayor's office. "And the one thing we cannot do, and will not allow to have happen, is you agree in concept and then try to nickel and dime and go on forever."

-Matthew Schuerman

We’ve been spending too much time at Trader Joe’s today to purloin a copy of Larry Silverstein’s new offer to the Port Authority, but we can tell you it is “different” from the one he left on the table Tuesday night. Let’s assume it is more beneficial to the government owners of the World Trade Center site as well, although his project manger, Janno Lieber, would not go that far himself in describing its contents.

“It’s different and has new ideas that address all of the issues outstanding from earlier this week,” he told us. “It was a full proposal.”

The offer was delivered, he said, mid-morning. Silverstein had not received a response as of late afternoon, but Lieber said he was not surprised. “All the major guys are marching,” he told us. But should the developer get a response today or over the weekend, Lieber said the company would be ready to negotiate immediately.

-Matthew Schuerman

Larry Silverstein gave his response to this morning’s Port Authority news conference, maintaining a mixture of befuddlement and reproach towards the breakdown of last night’s talks over rebuilding the World Trade Center.

“Nothing we had proposed was a departure from what has been discussed previously,” he said at his own presser in the Jenny Holzered-lobby at 7 World Trade Center—which, he did not fail to mention, is the only permanent building to have been constructed at Ground Zero since 9/11. “And there were absolutely no ultimatums on our part.”  read more »

The Port Authority leased the twin towers to Larry Silverstein back in July 2001 in order to get out of the real estate business. Now Mayor Bloomberg wants it to get back in.

For several weeks now, the Mayor has been proposing that Silverstein give the rights to develop Towers 3 & 4 along Church Street, the choicest sites, back to the Port Authority. It was never quite clear what would happen next and why another developer would have any better access to capital or any easier time renting the space than Silverstein would. Today at a City Council hearing, Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff gave the answers: the Port Authority should build it themsleves, issuing their own bonds to raise the money, taking about 600,000 or 700,000 square feet for its own offices, and then renting out the remaining 3.1 million square feet. What’s more, the Port Authority would forego the profit that Silverstein is seeking and charge lower rents, he said.  read more »

Bloomberg, in his State of the City Address today, nudged Silverstein to negotiate with the Port Authority to give up Towers 3 & 4 at Ground Zero in exchange for lower rent, and added, “We cannot allow the Trade Center to be a construction site for the next 15 years, which the current plan all but ensures it will be!” (Quote, including exclamation point, from printed version.)

But some real estate developers argue that 15 years is about the right amount of time to phase in 10 million square feet of Class A office space, considering the vacancy rate for Lower Manhattan is about 10 percent--and considering we have a Mayor who is pushing the creation of 28 million square feet of office space on the West Side by 2035.  read more »

Janno Lieber, director of World Trade Center development for Silverstein, said in a statement: “As City Hall is well aware, the Port Authority has not yet begun this key preparation work, including excavating the sites and building a protective slurry wall, and will therefore not be able to deliver the sites to Silverstein - or anyone else - for some time. It's unclear how the business proposal included in the Mayor's speech today addresses this, the largest obstacle to a timely rebuilding.”

-Matthew Schuerman