Port Authority Will Make WTC Loan, But There's a Catch

In the tense and steely World Trade Center staring contest, it appears the Port Authority has blinked first. The Times' Charles Bagli reports that on the same day WTC developer Larry Silverstein triggered the arbitration process in the spat over financing Tower 2 and Tower 3 at Ground Zero, the Port Authority's Chris Ward sent a letter to City Hall saying, for the first time, that the Port Authority will finance the two towers. Hooray, stumpitecture averted, speculative office space for everybody! Er, not quite. The money would change hands only after Silverstein raises $625 million, a hard sell in these credit-crunched times. Silverstein and his allies (including Lower Manhattan boss Sheldon Silver) are pooh-poohing the proposal, but this may be the first step to thawing the frozen state of the World Trade Center's future.
· Plan Offered to Finance Trade Center [NYT]
· World Trade Center Redevelopment coverage [Curbed]