By Al Barbarino

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has approved a plan for the U.S. General Services Administration to become the third tenant at One World Trade Center.

The GSA is set to sign a 20-year lease, with up to four 15-year renewal options, taking a total of 270,104 square feet on floors 50 through 55, the Port Authority announced at a board meeting last week (Thursday).

By Al Barbarino

Columbia University’s 17-acre Manhattanville campus in West Harlem has earned LEED Platinum certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Neighborhood Development rating system.

It’s the city’s first LEED ND certification and the first university campus in the nation to earn the award.

By Al Barbarino

Boston-based real estate private equity firm Rockpoint Group has sold the former Hotel Lola at 30 East 30th Street to King & Grove for $116 million, city records show.

Rockpoint purchased a majority share in the hotel as part of a portfolio – that also included Manhattan’s Renaissance Hotel 57 and On The Ave Hotel – from Property Markets Group in 2006.

By Al Barbarino

Speaking last week (Tuesday) at the “Current Innovation in New York Real Estate” discussion presented by Margolin, Winer & Evens LLP, three of the city’s leading developers explained why Manhattan is the place to be.

The panel included Gary Barnett, president at Extell Development Company; Peter S. Duncan, president and CEO of George Comfort & Sons Inc.; and David L. Picket, president at Gotham Organization, Inc.