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5 World Trade Center Deal 'On Pause,' Legal Documents Never Signed

5 World Trade Center

In two public meetings last week, significant new information emerged about the status of the 5 World Trade Center development.

Port Authority: The Deal Is “On Pause”

At the March 18, 2026 meeting of Community Board 1’s Quality of Life, Health, Housing & Human Services Committee, Port Authority Deputy Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs Hersh K. Parekh stated that the 5 WTC deal is “currently on pause.” He asserted that this was because of rising construction costs, saying “we’ve seen increases of 50 percent on certain construction costs,” and added: “things change. Conditions change. Costs go up. So, what was done at that time is not something that could move forward in the same way.”

When pressed on the commitment to 400 affordable units, Parekh said the Port Authority is “still working through with them (on) exactly what may be possible.”

The full CB1 committee meeting:

The following day, at the Thursday, March 19 meeting of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board of directors, it was revealed that the legal documents for the 5 WTC project were actually never signed, a wrinkle that significantly complicates Parekh’s claims and suggests that for three years Silverstein/Brookfield failed to advance the project they won at all in order to wait for the right moment to build. After all public approvals were completed, the parties were supposed to execute the lease and related legal documents. That step never happened.

LMDC Board members confirmed that the conditional designation of the Brookfield-Silverstein development team is non-binding and has no expiration date. It remains entirely within LMDC’s discretion to proceed with Silverstein at all. Alicia Glen, former Deputy Mayor and one of the City’s representatives on the board, expressed concern about the lack of progress, particularly given that the designated developer has recently entered into a major “lucrative” deal for WTC Tower 2. Under apparent pressure from the Zohran Mamdani administration, she called for a briefing and urged the board to “get out in front of” the situation, especially with the 25th anniversary of September 11 six months away.

The full LMDC board meeting:

Press Coverage

A Decade of Advocacy

The Washington Street Advocacy Group has advocated for nearly a decade that the RFP process for 5 World Trade Center should have always privileged affordable housing. Silverstein’s original proposal assumed a $300 million fee payment, but the deal negotiated with Silverstein Properties and Brookfield Properties was steadily reduced from that figure to a $12.5 million-a-year lease with no adequate inflation protection.

Now, with the project on pause and all affordability commitments in question and with the Port Authority apparently prepared to wait another decade, the situation underscores what we have argued from the beginning: Cuomo’s RFP process for the construction of this city and state owned site, purchased with federal September 11 funds, never adequately prioritized affordable housing or other community needs. The fact that the legal documents were never signed, and that apparently no elected public official at any level was aware of this or ever asked any questions, raises fundamental concerns about the relationships between the Port Authority and the City and State, as well as the control of New York City by big real estate interests.

Will Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul actually demand that we maximize affordable housing construction on public land? That is the key question now.

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