$1300 per square foot to build, $130 per square foot per year to rent: 1 World Trade Center , 1776 Freedom Tower
This building's economics are still nothing to write home about. One World Trade Center is going to cost somewhere on the order of $1,300 a square foot to build, more than double the cost of most new skyscrapers. And because it is what's called Class A office space, meaning that everything is top of the line, maintaining the building is also going to be very expensive. My real estate sources say they believe that the Port Authority will need to charge $130 a square foot to break even on the building.
But of course the Port Authority can't possibly charge anything close to that -- not in this real estate market or any market in the foreseeable future. The average rent for a downtown high-rise is $55 to $60 a square foot. Even if the Port Authority were able to charge higher, Midtown rents, it would still only be getting, at best, $80 a square foot.
BUSINESS
In Skyscraper at Ground Zero, Sentiment Trumped Numbers
By JOE NOCERA
Published: September 17, 2010
Few people seem willing to question whether building 1 World Trade Center makes any sense.