Well theres some news today
Quote:
Port in talks on huge WTC retailing deal
Opens discussions with Westfield, which successfully ran retailing at original trade center; seeks plan for 360,000 square feet of shop and restaurant space that will be built.
In the last few weeks, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has started negotiations with The Westfield Group to try to finalize an agreement reached in 2008 to jointly develop the retail space at the World Trade Center site, sources close to the discussions said.
These sources said the Port wants to know by mid-fall if it can seal a deal with Westfield. That would give the agency enough time to either find another partner or move forward by itself in developing a plan for the approximately 360,000 square feet of retail space that will be initially built at the site. Roughly 200,000 square feet of that space is in the Calatrava transit hub, which is slated to open in 2014.
In 2008, the Port Authority and Westfield signed a letter of intent whereby the Port agreed to provide approximately $825 million toward the $1.45 billion project, with Westfield providing the other $625 million. However, that deal was based on projections of about 488,000 square feet of retail space. That total has shrunk, in part because there are no immediate plans to build one of Larry Silverstein's three towers.
These sources said the two parties were discussing various economic issues but declined to be specific. A spokesman for the Port Authority declined to comment, and a spokeswoman for Australia-based Westfield didn't return a call. Westfield has interests in and operates one of the world's largest shopping center portfolios valued in excess of $58 billion with 119 properties in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Real estate experts said it made sense for the Port to focus on the retail portion of the site now that commercial tenant interest in the buildings is growing. Last month, the Port signed a 1 million-square-foot deal with Cond´ Nast for 1 World Trade Center. Meanwhile, published reports said Swiss financial giant UBS was considering moving into one of Mr. Silverstein's towers.
Additionally, the Port doesn't want to lose any significant retail tenants to its neighbor across West Street, the World Financial Center. There, owner Brookfield Office Properties plans a $250 million renovation of the retail space, which is slated to begin in October and run through 2013.
Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, Westfield had net leased the World Trade Center retail components, one of the highest-grossing shopping areas in the nation, which consisted of 427,000 square feet. In December 2003, to accelerate the rebuilding at the World Trade Center site, the Port acquired the retail net lease from Westfield.
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http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110621/REAL_ESTATE/110629965
[QUOTE
]WTC master planner takes top award
Eight years after his design was chosen to guide the rebuilding at Ground Zero and less than three months from the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Daniel Libeskind receives honor.
The author of the design road map for rebuilding the World Trade Center site will receive the highest honor bestowed by the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects Tuesday evening.
Daniel Libeskind, who became an overnight celebrity in the city in 2003 when his proposal for the World Trade Center site, dubbed “Memory Foundations,” was chosen by officials to be the master plan for the rebuilding, will receive the 2011 Medal of Honor at the institute chapter's annual meeting at the Center for Architecture on LaGuardia Place offices.
“We have great respect for his work,” said Rick Bell, executive director of the chapter. “And that's not just because of what's happening at the World Trade Center Site.”
Mr. Libeskind, who has also worked on projects ranging from the Jewish Museum in Berlin to the Denver Art Museum, received his architectural degree from the Cooper Union in the East Village in 1970. He currently lives with his wife in lower Manhattan, where his firm Studio Daniel Libeskind is based at 2 Rector St.
"To receive an award from this talented and accomplished group of architects is a particularly meaningful honor for me," Mr. Libeskind said. "It is always a compliment to be recognized by your peers."
While Mr. Libeskind penned the initial plan for the entire site's rebuilding, the individual buildings have all been designed by others. However, the American Institute of Architects still feels his vision shines through.
“It may not look exactly like the renderings, but the spirit is exactly the same,” Mr. Bell said of the World Trade Center site design, praising the mixed-use development and the integration of public plazas and office space.
The AIANY, which was founded in 1857, is the oldest and largest chapter in the AIA, with more than 5,000 members ranging from practicing architects and other professionals, to students and members of the public interested in architecture and design.
Since 1917, the chapter has awarded is Medal of Honor to a member or firm for their “distinguished work and high professional standing.” Among the earlier recipients are David Childs, who designed 7 World Trade Center and the Time Warner Center, and Louis Skidmore, co-founder of the architecture firm Skidmore Owings and Merrill.
Along with Mr. Libeskind, the New York chapter will also present awards to other members of the architecture community, including Frank J. Sciame Jr., the chief executive of Manhattan-based Sciame Construction, and Frederic Schwartz, a renowned architect who recently designed the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.
“Here's our chance, after a bunch years, to provide an accolade to where we felt it has been deserved,” Mr. Bell said, adding that it was “excellent timing” that the award was being given to Mr. Libeskind in the same year as the tenth anniversary of 9/11. “It could have been conferred next year or last, the award would still be as relevant and deserved.”[/QUOTE]
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This whole Medal of Honor confusion has been very entertaining to read. I am by no means a fan of Libeskind, but he is still the masterplan architect of the WTC. Also, he has done a number of museums and such that is what is probably getting him this award in the first place.
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