Dive Brief:

• The Australian shopping mall company Westfield Group has agreed to purchase a 50% stake in retail operations at the World Trade Center site in New York as it invests $800 million to take control of the retail space there.
• With the new deal, Westfield will have invested a total of more than $1.4 billion at the World Trade Center site, with its retail complex scheduled to open in 2015.
• Westfield reached an agreement in July 2011 to join with the the Port Authority and take a half stake in the site's development for $612.5 million.

Dive Insight:

In the month prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in Manhattan, Westfield had agreed to a 99-year lease interest at the World Trade Center site. It later sold that interest to the Port Authority in December 2003. The new move highlights Westfield's interest in growth outside of Australia. It also underlines its commitment to New York's new, high-profile facility that has faced a long a timeline of delays and design issues since new WTC buildings were first proposed.