Financing for the portions of the World Trade Center being built by Silverstein was covered, in part, by the insurance payments Larry Silverstein made sure to receive in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, when what was owed on the Twin Towers after the horrific incidents of that day appeared in peril. When Related began looking at funding Hudson Yards, prior to the recession, “Our game plan was, we were going to raise $2 billion and create an equity fund from around the world and that would be all we needed,” said Cross. “We expected a line out the door, and we figured we'd get our promotes and everyone would be happy.”

But he said—after some laughter from the audience—“we concluded that with a $2 billion fund, you narrow the range of investors because they have a preferred asset type, so we decided to finance every building separately. That's encouraged us to go to lead tenants and sell equity.” Several of the project's anchor tenants, such as Coach and SAP, have an equity stake in the development and, at least in Coach's case, also serve as lenders.

Gilmartin says FCRC has learned that sometimes the best approach is to share. “We used to not want to share at all. We only took partners when we had to, but now we like having them.” After securing a partner from China, Gilmartin said, “What I can say about China is the country's only problem with the US is that the projects aren't big enough.”

Atlantic Yards is unique, she noted, not only because it's anchored by an arena—that, of course, being the Barclays Center—but also because 60% of the project's housing portion is being built from modular units and steel rather than concrete. “Modular allows you to control costs because an 18 month build could be done in 9 months,” according to Gilmartin. That's because the modular units are in the works off site while other construction is being done on site simultaneously.

At Brookfield, said Friedrich, “we're going to create the largest rooftop terrace in New York, and our dining terrace will have 14 vendors, it won't be your normal food court by any means. I don't think any other office complex will have this food experience.”

In terms of work with utilities, Burger said Silverstein has “moved all mechanicals up the mezzanine level in our buildings” after being hit with many gallons of water on the Trade Center site. And Cross and Gilmartin both are eyeing co-generation.

“We're doing co-generation for sure, the only question is how much,” Cross said. “We're also considering thermal power and centralized waste management. We want to be able to say to office tenants, 'If con Edison goes down, you're not just safe, you have full, functional occupancy.'”