By Jotham Sederstrom 6/21/11 1:20pm

the sit-down

It’s been more than a year since Jody Durst took over the reins as the Durst Organization’s president, and, as one can imagine, business has become only more frenetic since then. With the announcement of Condé Nast’s deal to move from 4 Times Square to 1 World Trade Center and an aggressive search underway to fill retail space at 4 Times Square, Mr. Durst, 55, has been every bit as busy as before the downturn. Mr. Durst talked about the company’s dearth of big deals and what’s on the horizon for the firm.

Jody Durst on Condé Nast’s Next Cafeteria, Filling 4 Times Square

The Observer: There was a lengthy gap between when the unofficial deal with Condé Nast leaked to the press more than a year ago and when the deal actually became official earlier this month. What transpired between then and now?

Mr. Durst: There were significant issues that needed to be worked out, and significant negotiations that took place. Condé certainly wasn’t going to tell us two years ago, before a deal had been structured, that they were going to come down. Obviously, they needed to ensure that it was under business terms that they could agree with, and that it was in the best interest of their company and employees to go down there.

They did a tremendous amount of due diligence between then and now, and there were, as I said, significant deal terms and issues that needed to be addressed. Read More

By Laura Kusisto 4/14/11 4:44pm

Hole in One

The End of the Conde Nast Building as We Know It?

For at least half the population, the mourning over the shuttered ESPN Zone was short and sweet. On, we hope, to better things, as the Durst Organization has put the 45,000-square-foot Times Square mega-space back on the market. 

Though ESPN’s testorone-fueled hub at the base of 4 Times Square shuttered last spring, Disney has been Read More

By Laura Kusisto 2/25/11 6:50pm

Back to School

Douglas Durst: ‘Showings’ Afoot for Conde Space; China Trip for 1 WTC ‘Like Davos’

Now that Conde Nast is headed south, the publishing giant’s landlord, Douglas Durst, reveals there is already active interest in Conde’s current digs in 4 Times Square.

“It’s a good building and a good space,” Mr. Durst, chairman of the Durst Organization, said Wednesday, following a lecture to an overflowing room with members of Columbia’s Real Estate Development Program. There Read More