Larry Silverstein is feeling lucky
Larry Silverstein is feeling lucky. The 73 year old property tycoon who acquired the lease on the World Trade Center just six weeks before they were destroyed by al-Qaeda terrorists, escaped death in the attacks by a hair's breadth.
On September 11 2001, he missed his usual breakfast meeting at the Windows on the World restaurant at the top of Tower One, because of an appointment with his dermatologist.
Mr Silverstein, who lost four members of staff in the 9/11 attacks, is now vowing to rebuild the site according to his masterplan. He is confident he will succeed although he faces legal obstacles and funding doubts .
His plans have already brought him into conflict with those who wanted the site left as a memorial to the 2,800 victims; Daniel Libeskind, the architect behind the original masterplan whose vision was over-ruled; and Swiss Re and 23 other insurers who were putting the finishing touches on their cover when the towers collapsed.
Mr Silverstein lost one court battle with insurers earlier this year when his lawyers argued the attack counted as two incidents and therefore required twice the payout. He is now fighting a second legal battle with insurance companies. But even if he wins that his maximum payout will be $4.5bn rather than the $7.1bn he claimed.
The legal tussles have raised questions over whether Mr Silverstein's property group has the ability to pay its share of the new 16 acre scheme.
But in an interview in his 5th Avenue office in New York, the developer insisted that whatever the result of the latest trial, he would personally oversee the rise of a new World Trade Center from the wasteland of Ground Zero.
He insisted he could rebuild the site without the involvement of other developers and bank debt. The idea that he did not have the finances was “idle talk”, he said.
“Everyone gives you 400 reasons why it will not happen but we just go ahead with our work.” Silverstein Properties, his property group, has already spent an estimated $1.5bn on initial construction costs, legal fees and rent.
Mr Silverstein said he was responsible for only $3.5bn of the $13bn scheme, with the rest coming from “liberty bonds”, federal government funds and a public subscription for the arts centre and park.
The first of six new skyscrapers on the site, 7 World Trade Center, is already half-built. It will be finished next year or early 2006. The next and most ambitious project, Freedom Tower - at 1,776 feet the tallest in the world - should be finished in 2009. The upper reaches of the $700m tower will house wind turbines that will power a light show visible for 50 miles.
Architects including Frank Gehry and Lord Foster have been lined up for another four towers which will be built by 2013. “I will be 83 when I finally retire, I have got my work cut out until then,” said Mr Silverstein.
The towers will surround a park on the footprints of the original two towers, a performing arts centre and a Museum of American Freedom. The complex will have new transport links to the rest of the city.
Mr Silverstein, with his slicked back quiff and matching white collar and cuffs, looks the part of the quintessential property magnate. His own publicity describes him as a “dedicated New Yorker”, a role he is happy to play up to. “I was born here, raised here, spent my entire life here,” he said.
He may need all his salesmanship to make a commercial success of the project given the state of the downtown Manhattan property market, where 14 per cent of available office space stands vacant.
Some property experts question whether an extra 11.7m sq ft of office space will cause a glut in the market. They also say it is risky to build skyscrapers without any pre-let tenants.
Mr Silverstein said he had “no doubt” the towers would be occupied and CB Richard Ellis, his agent, was in talks with several possible tenants. It is believed that one of these is the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC used to occupy the old 7 World Trade Center, which collapsed days after the twin towers.
One concern for potential tenants remains safety.
Just yards from 7 World Trade Center, the scarred and twisted hull of a City University building still stands as a potent reminder of 9/11.
The new skyscraper is being built with a reinforced concrete core of the type used in military bunkers, advanced fireproofing materials and larger stairwells that are pressurised to repel smoke.
Mr Silverstein is set to put his faith in the building's safety in a very overt manner. He will move in 100 staff including his son and daughter as the building's first tenants next year.
重建世贸中心
莱瑞?希尔维斯坦(Larry Silverstein)感到十分幸运。就在世贸中心被基地组织恐怖分子撞毁的6周前，这位73岁的房地产大亨取得了世贸中心租约。幸运的是，他在这次恐怖袭击中与死神擦肩而过。
2001年9月11日，由于与皮肤医生有约，他没有出席在世贸中心1号楼顶层靠窗餐厅召开的早餐例会。
现在，在“9?11”中痛失4名员工的希尔维斯坦先生承诺，将根据他的总体规划，在原址上重建世贸大楼。虽然面临一些法律障碍和资金质疑，但他确信将取得成功。
一些人希望保留世贸中心原址，以纪念2800名遇难者，这样一来，和他的的计划起了冲突。丹尼尔?李伯昕（Daniel Libeskind）是原先负责世贸中心总体规划的建筑师，他的构想遭到推翻；大楼倒塌时，瑞士再保险(Swiss Reinsurance)和其它23家保险公司正在对保险合同作最后修改。
今年早些时候，希尔维斯坦先生在一场法律官司中输给了保险公司。他的律师主张，这次撞机事件应计为2起，因而赔偿金额也应是双份的。现在，他正第二次与保险公司对簿公堂。但即便打赢官司，他最多也只能获赔45亿美元，而不是他索赔的71亿美元。
这两起官司提出了一个问题，即希尔维斯坦先生的房地产集团是否有能力在这个16英亩的新计划中，提供他们需要承担的那部分资金。
但是，在纽约第五大街的办公室里，作为开发商的希尔维斯坦先生在一次采访中坚决表示，无论审判结果如何，他会亲自监督新的世贸中心大楼从“归零地”(Ground Zero)的废墟中拔地而起。
他坚持认为，无需其它开放商介入和银行贷款，他就能重建世贸中心。他表示，有些人猜测他缺少资金，这纯属“无稽之谈”。
“每个人给了你400条不可能的理由，但我们的工作仍将继续。” 据估计，希尔维斯坦房地产公司(Silverstein Properties)在工程费用、法律费和租金上的支出已达15亿美元。
希尔维斯坦先生说，他只负责筹集总投资130亿美元计划中的35亿美元，其余部分则来自“自由公债”、联邦政府资助以及艺术中心和公园的公债发行。
在世贸中心7号楼原址上建造的第一批6栋新的摩天大楼工程已经过半，将于明年或2006年初竣工。下一个项目将是最具野心的工程，即建造1776英尺（约541米）全球最高的 “自由塔”(Freedom Tower)，应于2009年完工。该高楼投资7亿美元，在其上部桁架结构上安装了风力涡轮发电机，将为50英里内清晰可见的灯光表演提供电力。
包括弗兰克?盖瑞(Frank Gehry)、福斯特公爵(Lord Foster)在内的建筑师们已携手投入另外4幢大楼的设计中，这些大楼将于2013年完工。“在我最终退休时，我将83岁。在退休前，我的工作并不会轻松，”希尔维斯坦先生说。
这些大楼的四周将有一个公园，就建在双塔原址，一个表演艺术中心和一座美国自由博物馆。这些楼宇将建立与市内其它地方相连的新的交通枢纽。
希尔维斯坦先生前额上的头发往后梳得光滑平整，衬衫的白色衣领和袖口相得益彰，看上去俨然是一位典型的房地产大亨。他的公司刊物将他形容为一位“具有献身精神的纽约人”，而他也欣然扮演好这一角色。“我在这里出生长大，在这里待了一辈子了，”他说。
在纽约市中心曼哈顿房地产市场中，仍有14%的可出租办公区域闲置。鉴于目前这种状况，他可能需要充分发挥其销售才能，使该项目获得商业上的成功。
一些房地产专家质疑，额外增加1170平方米的办公区域是否会造成市场过剩。他们还表示，若无任何事先承租的租客，建造摩天大楼是有风险的。
希尔维斯坦先生说，他并“不怀疑”将有公司入驻这些大楼。他的地产顾问公司世邦魏理仕(CB Richard Ellis)正与几个潜在租客洽谈，据说美国证交会也在其列。证交会曾租用原世贸中心7号楼，该楼在双子塔倒塌后的几天内也灰飞烟灭。
对于潜在租客而言，安全仍是他们所关心的一个问题。
距离原世贸中心几米之遥，遍体鳞伤、面目全非的纽约城市大学教学楼的躯壳依然屹立在那里，强有力地提醒着人们曾经发生过的“9?11”。
正在新建中的摩天大楼采用军事碉堡一类的钢筋混凝土心、高级防火材料以及受压后能驱除烟尘的大型楼梯井。
希尔维斯坦先生必将以一种公开的方式表示，他对大楼安全很有信心。明年，他将要求包括他的儿子和女儿在内的100名员工迁入新址办公，成为该大楼的首批租客。
