Rumors rife as Freedom Tower design scrapped.

Got no tenants for a spec skyscraper? Maybe it's redesign time.

That's at least what one top brokerage executive--who asked to remain unnamed--indicated could be why Larry Silverstein so unobjectionably agreed to a complete overhaul of the Freedom Tower's design and the consequent major delay to the timeline for its construction.

The executive pointed out that 7 World Trade Center, which is almost complete, is still without a single tenant. Aside from the Port Authority, the Freedom Tower also had no space commitments from tenants prior to the release of a damning NYPD report, which spurred security concerns for the site and building.

Larry Silverstein wasn't available for comment, but a leading Manhattan developer claimed that general lack of leadership on the project was a major reason why those security concerns weren't identified and mitigated sooner. "Somebody needs to take charge of this project," the developer said.

The executive said that the West Side Stadium development could have distracted both the city and state government and spurred mismanagement of the WTC site. After an April 8 NYPD security report for the WTC site created an uproar over security concerns for the Freedom Tower, developer Larry Silverstein, as well as the city and state, agreed last week to redesign the building and alter the master plan for the site. The updated version will address the design's close proximity to the street and low level glass facade, characteristics that the NYPD's report said will make the building unnecessarily vulnerable to a potential car or truck bomb.

Architect David Childs, who added to Daniel Libeskind's original design for the tower, is said to be drafting a new version, which like the previous design will be 1,776 feet tall, but will be repositioned 75 feet from the street and probably include different sheathing on the lower floors. The Freedom Tower was originally planned to sit 25 feet from the street.

The new design is expected to bear little resemblance to the original, whose prominent features included a torqued exterior and offset spire that were meant to aesthetically echo the Statue of Liberty but were considered costly and technically difficult to realize.