[NYguy]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...M7C2qqw9KRkBfL

Best of frenemies at 4 TS
PA hires unit of firm that audited it



H&M TIME: As part of its plans for 4 Times Square, the clothing chain will display its well-known logo
on the long-unused 70-foot-by-70-foot panels at the tower’s crown.


By STEVE CUOZZO
October 9, 2012

A unit of the consulting firm that put out a mostly complimentary audit of the Port Authority has been hired by the agency to help it find tenants to replace Condé Nast at 4 Times Square. The PA tapped Navigant Capital Advisors — the corporate finance arm of Navigant Consulting — to “evaluate strategic alternatives” for the publisher’s 840,000 square feet. Four Times Square is owned by the Durst Organization. Under a deal worked out nearly two years ago, the PA is on the hook for the rent on the space when the publisher moves to 1 World Trade Center in 2015.

Under the complex deal to let Condé Nast anchor 1 WTC, the PA agreed to pick up the cost of the remaining rent on Condé’s Times Square lease. The space stretches over 19 floors including the iconic, Frank Gehry-designed cafeteria. Interest in the space is likely to be high: It’s a Class-A asset in the tower that cemented the “new” Times Square’s role as a commercial center for media, banks and law firms. But if the PA hasn’t found a tenant to sublease Condé’s floors, the PA must reimburse the publisher for its rent payments to Durst. Navigant is expected to send a letter today to top commercial brokers apprising them of its role, saying it has been “retained to evaluate strategic alternatives” for the Condé floors.