Developer Larry Silverstein is negotiating with the Port Authority over changes in his lease for 7 World Trade Center, including the possibility of lower payments in exchange for erecting a smaller building that allows Greenwich Street to pass through the site.
Silverstein is seeking some form of compensation for concessions he made in the design of 7 WTC to meet the demands of downtown residents and planners, sources told The Post.
Various formulas have been discussed, including creating a so-called development credit that Silverstein could use on another project, or sell to another developer.
That option has now been shelved in favor of changing the lease, a source said.
Silverstein’s current plan for 7 WTC shaves some 300,000 square feet off the now-destroyed building’s original 1.9 million square feet.
The building, erected by Silverstein in 1986, stood at the base of Greenwich Street, just north of the main trade center site.
Silverstein raised the hackles of local residents when he insisted on rebuilding the structure essentially as it was.
His latest proposal shrinks the building’s footprint to make way for the street and also employs environmentally sound “green building” elements – two features championed by residents and planners.
“The fact Silverstein would be putting a different building on the site is cause for negotiations for a lease amendment,” said Port Authority spokesman Alan Morrison.
Silverstein has an $861 million insurance payout to fund rebuilding. He declined comment.