Three World Trade Center will now move forward. And the new financing deal is a win all around.
It’s a win for Larry Silverstein, who now will have the cash to finish a building that is a big part of Lower Manhattan’s redevelopment.
It’s a win for the Port Authority, in that it helps get it out of a business it doesn’t belong in. Above all, it’s a win for the taxpayers, who won’t be on the hook for the loan guarantee.
This new deal came about because PA board members, led by Kenneth Lipper, last month blocked a proposed $1.2 billion loan guarantee to Silverstein, calling it “an inappropriate investment.” And rightly so.
Under the new agreement, the PA will release $159 million in insurance funds Silverstein received as compensation for the 9/11 attacks.
The developer says this money — originally slated for use on another building — will help him obtain private financing through the municipal-bond market.
Our issue has never been with Silverstein. It’s with a Port Authority whose forays into areas such as real estate have taken it far outside its mandate.
We opposed the old deal because the key to PA reform is returning its focus to where it ought to be: on transportation and related infrastructure.
When The Post came out against the PA guarantee for 3 World Trade Center, there were predictions of Armageddon and unfinished buildings. But lo and behold, the private sector found a better way forward.
Anyone surprised?