1 World Trade Center Will Be Really Expensive

The publishing industry must be on the rise if Condé Nast can afford to move their offices to 1 World Trade Center. According to the Times, the new skyscraper will cost $1,300 per square foot to build, and they will need to charge $130 per square foot to break even on the building. For comparison, space in your average downtown high-rise goes for $55 per square foot.

Insiders say Condé Nast got a deal and will be paying the current market rate for square footage, meaning any other tenants may have to fork over even more to help the 1,776 foot tall tower break even. Rich Gladstone of the Port Authority said that the Times' analysis was wrong, and they have insurance proceeds that will make rent much lower. “It is not going to get a typical developer’s rate of return,” he said. "But it will be cash-flow positive."

Douglas Durst of building manager Durst Corporation says he expects the building to become financially positive by "2018 or 2019"—must faster than the original World Trade Center, which took decades to become successful.

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By Jaya Saxena in News on September 18, 2010 6:34 PM

Comments [rss]

Mordicai

Wait, doesn't the fact that it took the WTC a while to flip & become profitable sort of take the wind out of this story's sails? "OMG IT IS EXPENSIVE & IT WON'T TURN A PROFIT (just like the original, & actually lots of other skyscrapers, actually this is sort of a non-issue.)"

ddhboy

Yeah, and the world trade center always had trouble getting tenants, in fact, it was loosing tenants around the time of 9/11, so placing a giant office tower in lower Manhattan never really made much sense. But you know, egos bruised and all that, and now we have to throw our money into the pit so we can feel better about ourselves.

John L

"Douglas Durst of building manager Durst Corporation says he expects the building to become financially positive by "2018 or 2019"

Yeah right, they'll be lucky if it's even built by then.

exnyer

"But it will be cash-flow positive."..... yeah, looks like they are counting on Gordon Ramsay to personally "cook" those books. Silverstein get out of my fucking kitchen!!!!

The Guardrail

Nine years later and we are just starting to begin construction on the so called "Freedom Tower". The whole project is so disappointing with all the political nonsense, but it is NY so I am not surprised. We had an opportunity to do something really revolutionary and create something iconic for our skyline and we blew it. Instead what we ended up with was four more glass towers that will just blend in. Total bummer.

ribaldry

STOPPED CARING ABOUT IT IN 2002

inoyourider

Surprise

pinball29

This entire project has been a Port Authority/ Silverstien money-pit scam from day one. Why should it be any different now.

SonnyBobiche

What a piece of crap architecture that is! The stupid "International Competition" was a sham because Pataki and Bloomberg didn't like the real winner and vetoed the judges decision. We ended up withe the most mediocre of the original six mediocre designs.

John_Matrix

pretty sure it was the think architects group design:

http://www.september11news.com/NightThink1.jpg

what a clusterfuck the whole design competition was. thank christ libeskind's original plan was shitcanned too. i'll take mediocrity over an eyesore.