175 Greenwich Street: Delayed, Denied, or Full Speed Ahead?

There’s just one problem: Larry Silverstein needs to find a tenant who will rent a minimum of 400,000 square feet before the building rises past its podium. 

Speculation has been rampant that tenants have been found and that the building will rise unimpeded, largely fueled by the continued construction of the base. Delays are frequent in major projects with One57 even halting construction briefly last year, which is why many are optimistic 175 Greenwich will continue rising even if construction is briefly halted. 

Although no tenants for the tower have been announced, there are several large corporations searching for major blocks of office space, ranging upwards of one million square feet. The two largest names are Time Warner and Credit Suisse,with AIG searching for over 400,000 square feet of space as well. 

With so many companies looking to consolidate large blocks of office space, 175 Greenwich would seem to make a perfect fit. Unfortunately, there is a large amount of competition for the largest companies. The Hudson Yards office towers are offering rents at very low prices, and Manhattan West is another major competitor. 

Despite the competition, the buildings of the new World Trade Center are well-positioned to lure large tenants because of their unique advantage: location. Both the Hudson Yards development and Manhattan West are in a currently barren stretch of Midtown, while the new towers of the World Trade Center are situated on prime real estate Downtown. 

Whether 175 Greenwich continues construction without any breaks remains to be seen, but the progress on the building’s podium is certainly encouraging. The imminent completion of One & Four World Trade Center as well as Calatrava’s Transit Hub should greatly improve the site’s aesthetics and attractiveness to potential tenants, as well. 

Timing is everything in New York real estate, and even if construction is halted on 175 Greenwich, Silverstein has over a year to secure a tenant. As the overall site comes together and begins looking more attractive to tenants, there is an excellent chance Silverstein will land one of the big fish currently looking for more space–and it’s likely that 175 Greenwich will continue rising, even if it is delayed.