Mr. Steir: We’re going to go through a cycle. Worldwide Plaza is, in a microcosmic way, an example of what we’re going to see, where there’s new ownership, a new capital structure in place. It’s a wonderful building, and it’s a building now with a new, much more manageable capital structure, and it’s seeing a lot of activity, and I wouldn’t be surprised if in 6 to 12 months they didn’t have a reasonable amount of their space rented.
Mr. Colacino: This is going to be very slow motion, this process. You couldn’t exaggerate or overestimate how slowly it’s going to go, because what’s happening is, there’s a dozen reasons why people don’t make decisions. People don’t want the assets back on their books, so foreclosure is not a remedy for most of these problems. The special servicers are vastly overwhelmed. … And of course, all of the operators now, they’re hanging on by their fingernails, collecting fees, and in place … and so they’re doing everything that they can to mitigate their interactions with the bankers or with the special servicers to make it look like, ‘Hey the building may be underwater, all of the equity’s gone, and all my equity’s gone, and a lot of the debt’s gone, but the fact of the matter is that I’m still doing leasing, I’m still running the building effectively; keep me in place, and let’s build some sort of future together where I get a little something and you get something as well.’ That could go on for years, because there’s no trigger that’s going to say everything’s changed.
Mr. Steir: Other than a dramatically improved marketplace.
drubinstein@observer.com
