WHATS WRONG WITH SILVERSTEIN?
The most serious argument for trying to dislodge Silverstein belongs to Mayor Bloomberg, who says he will run out of money before finishing construction. The implication is that, like many a speculative developer before him, he will declare bankruptcy, leaving a big mess for someone else (the city or the state) to clean up. This argument is plausible. First, Silverstein has no major commercial tenant at 7 WTC, though he can point fairly convincingly to a Chinese trade group that has agreed to a term sheet. Second, he needs to rent 7 WTC at absolutely top dollar $54 per square foot, which is higher than any other downtown commercial building. The elegant World Financial Center across the street rents for $43and it isn’t surrounded by construction filth. Nor does it overlook the deplorably untouched Fiterman Hall, owned by the City University and frozen in the same bombed-out appearance since September 12, 2001. If Silverstein can’t make money on 7 WTC, why should he be entrusted with bu
