August 30th - September 3rd, 2010

First Memorial Trees Arrive

August 30 – Sixteen swamp white oak trees were planted on the WTC site around the 9-11 Memorial. Eventually, 400 20-foot tall trees will stand on the 8 acre Memorial Plaza, according to DNAinfo.com. Hundreds of trees are expected to be in the ground in time for the 10^th anniversary of the attacks next year. The trees are being cultivated in New Jersey.

Upbeat Leasing Activity News

August 30 – For the first time in almost a year, leasing in FiDi was up by about 63%, thanks mostly to the 171,988 square foot least signed by Healthfirst at 100 Church Street. GlobeSt.com reported July saw 620,000 square feet signed to leases. Downtown Alliance President Elizabeth Berger said, “The district has a tradition of recovering from adversity with remarkable speed.”

Cavanaugh Announces BPC Authority Resignation

August 31 – Cavanaugh, who came to the Authority in 2004, will be leaving by early October, according to a report in The Battery Park City Broadsheet Daily. The story says Cavanaugh decided to take advantage of the State’s early retirement incentive. A successor has yet to be named, but there is speculation that Chairman William Thompson might choose Gayle Horwitz to take over.

Century 21 Could Face New Competition

September 1 – TJ Maxx is shopping – for space in Lower Manhattan. According to Lois Weiss’s Between the Bricks column in The New York Post, the discount fashion retailer has its eyes on 14 Wall Street and is negotiating for anywhere from 25,000 to 30,00 square feet.

LMDC Extends Small Business Assistance Program

September 2 – The program, which helps small businesses affected by the rebuilding Downtown, is getting an infusion of about $1 million to a total of $6 million. LMDC also announced that the amount of grant money will increase from $25,000 to $35,000. The program is being extended to December 31, 2015.