The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed today that Merrill Lynch has pulled out of plans to locate its headquarters at a new office tower to be constructed at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. \u201cWhile communications continue, formal negotiations between the Port Authority, Silverstein Properties and Merrill Lynch have ended over economic terms,\u201d a Port Authority spokesperson said in a prepared statement. \u201cWe are confident in the long-term viability of the office market at the site, and continue to make progress on construction of all of the projects.\u201d A Merrill Lynch spokesperson told CPN today they are not commenting on the news. CPN had reported May 22 that the financial services firm had re-entered talks with the Port Authority, which owns the site, to possibly move its headquarters to the planned Tower 3. Merrill Lynch\u2019s current headquarters is in the World Financial Center, across West Street from the WTC site. Despite a report released June 30 by the Port Authority noting that the rebuilding at Ground Zero would take longer and cost more than initially estimated, Larry Silverstein, president of WTC developer Silverstein Properties Inc., has said that his company’s projects–Towers 2, 3 and 4–are still expected to be completed by the end of 2012. Today, Janno Lieber, president of World Trade Center Properties, a Silverstein Properties affiliate, said they were moving ahead with plans for their towers. \u201cRight now, the entire Silverstein Properties World Trade Center team is focused on working with government to resolve the design and construction issues identified by the Port Authority in its recent report to the Governor, as well as ongoing uncertainties about the Port Authority\u2019s schedule to complete vital site infrastructure,\u201d Lieber stated. \u201cIt is urgent that these issues be resolved in order to accelerate the rebuilding of the entire World Trade Center site.\u201d Lieber added, \u201cWe wish Merrill Lynch great success and hope they decide to keep their headquarters in Lower Manhattan, their historic home, for many years.\u201dMichael Cohen, chairman of GVA Williams, told CPN today that there wasn\u2019t much difference between Merrill Lynch moving to the new World Trade Center tower or staying put at World Financial Center. \u201cAs long as they stay in Downtown, it\u2019s good for Downtown,\u201d Cohen said. Merrill Lynch leases more than 2 million square feet at 4 World Financial Center under a deal reportedly set to expire in 2013. \u201cMy guess is that Brookfield Properties, the owner of the World Financial Center, who are very smart people, will figure out a way to retain Merrill Lynch Downtown,\u201d Cohen added. Cohen said he disagreed with much of the negative spin the Merrill Lynch story was generating since the New York Times’Charles Bagli first reported the news. \u201cDowntown is more attractive than it\u2019s ever been. It\u2019s become a very 24\/7 community. There\u2019s a ton of infrastructure,\u201d he said. He noted that with the economy slowing, many firms currently located in Midtown–where office rents are still over $100 per square foot–might take a hard look at leasing Downtown space. \u201cDowntown will have to continue, and I\u2019m sure this is Silverstein\u2019s strategy, to make the case that this location is a viable competitor with Midtown,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cComparable space Midtown is going to cost you three figures and Downtown it\u2019s not.\u201dBlog Comments<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed today that Merrill Lynch has pulled out of plans to locate its headquarters at a new office tower to be constructed at the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. \u201cWhile communications continue, formal negotiations between the Port Authority, Silverstein Properties and Merrill Lynch have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1314,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37301],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1003828932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n