Final Vote Set on Silverstein’s Towers at Ground Zero

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is expected to convene Thursday to formally ratify a plan that would allow the developer Larry A. Silverstein to build two office towers at ground zero with up to $1.6 billion in public financing and subsidies, according to Port Authority and real estate executives.

Mr. Silverstein, who leased the trade center six weeks before it was destroyed in the 2001 terrorist attack, has already started construction of one tower on Church Street, at the southeast corner of the 16-acre trade center site. Under the terms of the development plan, the authority would provide about $1 billion in financing for that project.

If Mr. Silverstein is able to raise at least $300 million in cash for the second tower on an adjacent site and secure leases for tenants, the authority, state and city would provide $600 million in subsidies.

Stephen Sigmund, a spokesman for the Port Authority, said the board would take up “World Trade Center matters” on Thursday, but he declined to give any details.

After years of delays and missteps, the trade center site is crowded today with thousands of workers. The authority is building a skyscraper — the $3.2 billion 1 World Trade Center — as well as the national memorial and a $3.2 billion transit hub.

Mr. Silverstein, who has put little of his own cash into rebuilding other than insurance money, had sought to have the authority finance all three of his towers after he was unable to obtain private financing and secure tenants. The authority balked, in part, because of the weak economy and the real estate markets.

A preliminary outline of the Silverstein agreement was first announced in March, but the authority’s board wanted to see the final terms before ratifying the deal. The board’s vote will presumably bring to an end the often fractious relationship between the two sides.

Still, some board members said they were only reluctantly approving the plan, which they say still allows Mr. Silverstein to profit while a huge public investment is at risk, if the towers do not find tenants at adequate rents.

There also is a recognition at the authority, whose board is appointed by the governors of New York and New Jersey, that its investment in Lower Manhattan is so great now that other New York projects, including Moynihan Station, may have to be delayed. New Jersey is eager for the authority to take up other projects, such as rebuilding the Bayonne Bridge.