Deal Is Reached For Ground Zero

After months of acrimonious negotiations, government officials and developer Larry Silverstein reached a deal Thursday to rebuild the World Trade Center site and end an impasse that has stalled progress since the complex was destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Under the agreement Mr. Silverstein reached with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York City and New York state, the three public entities agreed to contribute as much as $600 million of new financing to the construction of office space if Mr. Silverstein meets certain conditions. At the same time, he agreed to put up $300 million of new equity.

Mr. Silverstein, who signed a 99-year lease for the World Trade Center six weeks before it was destroyed, has the right to build three office towers on the eastern end of the site. While work on other parts of the site, including a memorial, is under way, the sluggish progress at the 16-acre site has been an embarrassment for civic leaders.

Mr. Silverstein already has begun construction of his first tower. Under the agreement, foundation work on the second tower will begin immediately. The parties agreed that his third tower would get no public financing, which means it likely won't be built until the real-estate market improves. The entire site will be built to street level to allow other parts of the development to move forward, and to avoid leaving a hole in the ground where the third building eventually might be built.