PRINT THIS STORY:

CHANGE TEXT SIZE:

WESTFIELD TO BRING BACK WTC RETAIL

By Kerri Linden

After stagnating through seven years of bureaucratic battles, Ground Zero's transformation from crater to commercial hub is finally on the fast track. At least Westfield Group seems to think so, having tossed its hat back into the ring by agreeing to jointly develop and operate a retail development at the new World Trade Center project with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

In January Westfield signed a letter of intent to handle management and leasing for the venture and says it will invest up to $625 million toward development costs. The Port Authority is to invest $825 million. Westfield operated the retail center at the foot of the World Trade Center destroyed by the terrorist attacks of September 2001, having acquired an interest in July of that year. The company sold its stake back to the Port Authority in 2003 to simplify the rebuilding process.

"We always wanted to be a part of the revitalization of this historic site once the plans were finalized," said Peter Lowy, Westfield's group managing director, in a press release. "With the Port Authority, we look forward to creating a world-class, iconic shopping destination for Lower Manhattan."

The Lower Manhattan Westfield is returning to is significantly different from the one it left behind. The area has undergone a residential resurgence, with new, upscale apartment buildings under construction and several high-end retailers. By the end of 2008, the neighborhood will be home to twice the number of residential units that were there in 2000, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York. About 18 hotels are also in the works for the area. Incomes are on the rise in the area as well. The Alliance reports that median yearly household income for residents below Chambers Street, the northern border of Lower Manhattan, is three times the city average at $165,000.

Plans call for 488,000 square feet of retail space on multiple levels, with the majority of that located in the new transit terminal, where 11 subway lines converge. The project is due to be completed in 2012. The space will feature casual and full-service eateries as well as local, national and international specialty shops. Westfield, which will implement lessons learned from its urban retail projects in such cities as London, Sydney and San Francisco, will likely include an outdoor dining terrace similar to the one at its Westfield Bondi Junction mall in Sydney.

Local residents are more friendly toward the project these days than they were right after the attack, when some critics complained about developing retail on a site where thousands died. "This project will provide a major boost to the local economy and will enhance the quality of life for those who live, work or visit downtown," said Port Authority Chairman Anthony Coscia. "It will provide them with a vibrant urban shopping experience."

Darrell Rubens, managing director of New York City-based Winick Realty, says Westfield will have no problem bringing in new tenants. "They will have every tenant in the U.S. and the world begging to get in," he said. "Before [Sept. 11] the tenants there had the best-performing locations in the U.S. You're going to see even more high-caliber tenants now that you didn't have before."