Australian mall operator Westfield Group told attendees at the ICSC RECon in Las Vegas today that the company might be opening its stores at the World Trade Center development by March 2015, just one week after it officially inked its deal with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for a $1.25 billion deal to lease space at the site.
The deal, which was first reported by Steve Cuozzo at The NY Post, was secured last week after Westfield made its first payment (reportedly just under $100 million) for its 50 percent stake in the World Trade Center’s projected 460,000 square feet of retail space.
Westfield gave attendees at ICSC in the Las Vegas Convention Center an intimate peek at its plans for the retail space, Reuters reports.
352,000 square feet of retail space will be parceled out over three above-ground levels and two below ground, Westfield Co-Chief Executive Peter Lowy said.
The deal will also give Westfield an additional 90,000 square feet of retail space.
And what kind of tenants should we expect to operate inside the World Trade Center?
“We’re going to do something that no one can imagine,” Lowy told Reuters during the International Council of Shopping Centers annual convention, or RECon, without elaborating further details.
What is known is that the stores will be tourist- and New Yorker-friendly, and will also feature a mixture of “upscale” food shops and a “very good” supermarket, Mr. Lowy told Reuters.
4 World Trade Center and 3 World Trade Center will be the sites of the above-ground retail, while a good chunk of the retail will be located inside the WTC Transportation Hub.
drosen@observer.com
