The deal struck to resume construction at the 9/11 museum garnered headlines earlier this week, but the biggest byproduct of that agreement may be in the development of a high-rise residential building at the former Deutsche Bank building site. The transaction had the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey turning over ownership of eight acres of the 16-acre World Trade Center site, which include the museum and the memorial, in exchange for “Site 5,” better known as the land that once held the Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street, Reuters reported.
That swap fulfills an earlier agreement made in 2006 that was delayed by the political standoff at the museum. Now the land must be traded within the next six months.
Unlike land at the World Trade Center, 130 Liberty Street can be used to develop apartments, hotel rooms or offices. “The site would be most valuable if it supported apartments with a hotel on the lower floors,” Robert Von Ancken, chairman of Landauer Valuation & Advisory, a division of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, told Reuters. He speculated combined hotel and apartments would sell for between $135 million and $150 million. Reuters noted that the cash-strapped Port Authority would welcome the revenue. [Reuters] — Adam Fusfeld