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Douglas Durst and his New York Durst Organization real estate firm are having problems with their $100 million stake in the new One World Trade Center tower. Durst currently holds a 10% interest in the new office building in partnership with the Port Authority.
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The real estate magnate’s problems stem from his failure to attract enough new tenants. According to a report in The New York Post, if his firm does not reach a minimum threshold of at least 150, 000 square feet of leased office within a year of the tower’s opening for Durst’s part of the building’s leases then the Port Authority has the right to buy back its $100 million share.
The minimum space only needs to be in contract and does not yet need to be paid for by the end of the time limit. It does not, however, include 1.5 million square feet already taken by Condé Nast, China Center and the federal GSA.
As of now, Durst has only contracted for half of the total space.
Due to low demand, the Durst Organization has dropped the rent that it is asking for from as high as more than $90 per square foot to the id $60 range.
If Durst’s venture at 1 WTC fails it will be a big blow to the firm which is about to lease tenants from some of its midtown Manhattan properties whose leases are about to expire.
This may prove to only be a blow to its prestige, however, as the firm is valued at as much as $4.4 billion.
One World Trade Center has already leased about 60% of its total 3 million square feet of available office space.
Douglas Durst is the chairman and a member of the third generation to lead the Durst Organization. Douglas was born in New York City in 1944 and graduated from the Fieldston School and the University of California Berkeley
Today, the company owns, manages and operates a 13 million square foot office portfolio and more than 1, 800 residential rental units, as well as overseeing the development, management and leasing of One World Trade Center.
