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NEW YORK CITY-The Empire State Development Corp. has given the go ahead on additional funding for a Goldman Sachs plan for a new headquarters in Lower Manhattan. Last week, sources said the financial powerhouse planned to move forward with a two-million-sf home on Site 26.

Goldman has yet to make it official, but so far has a financing package of approximately $1.6 billion in place. Already approved is $1 billion in Liberty Bond financing to go toward development costs. When the headquarters effort was announced nearly a year ago, the financial arrangements included $13.4 million in sales tax exemptions, Con Edison energy discounts worth an estimated $10.3 million, as well as $25 million in Job Creation and Retention Program grant funds.

The project, which is estimated to cost nearly $2 billion, would be the first development of headquarters space in Lower Manhattan in 16 years. The site is expected to house headquarters and front office staff, including investment banking, commodities trading and related operations. In April, the firm said it was reconsidering those plans. The state has changed plans to construct a traffic tunnel on West Street that would have veered traffic right in front of the site.