It sounds like Larry Silverstein is finally going to get some good news. After receiving a blow when Merrill Lynch backed out of their agreement to move into one of the as-yet-unbuilt World Trade Center towers earlier this month, the developer looks like he's about to score a big coup. HSBC is in final talks to lease 300,000 square feet of office space in the already completed 7 World Trade Center. At $75 to $85 per square foot, the Post reports that this would be the highest rent downtown.

According to the paper, it's a vindication for Silverstein, who held off other offers while waiting for the kind of rates he thought the space was worth. If the deal, which has several more steps before it's completed, goes through, HSBC will also likely sell its building, at 452 Fifth Avenue, which it's already put on the market quietly. And you thought downtown was done!

'TIME' FOR SOME ACTION [NYP]