(Adds comments by Spitzer, Bloomberg) By Joan Gralla NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) - New York's $3 billion Freedom Tower won the backing of Gov. Eliot Spitzer on Tuesday, ending speculation he might demand an overhaul of the iconic skyscraper that will replace the Twin Towers. Spitzer and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine also confirmed they were open to selling the 1,776-foot (541-meter) tower, one of several tall office buildings to be built where the World Trade Center was destroyed in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Under construction and due to be completed in 2011, the Freedom Tower will be owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a public agency controlled by the neighboring states. New York's Democratic governor had called the Freedom Tower a "white elephant," and he has been reviewing the project since he took office in January. "We are comfortable that this is viable, profitable, a smart decision," Spitzer told a news conference. Spitzer said the project's finances are now more secure, partly due to a recovery in the market for New York commercial real estate and progress in securing leases with federal government agencies. "The real estate market ... has fundamentally changed, and we have come closer to government leases for about 1 million square feet (93,000 square meters)," Spitzer said. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who joined the governors at the news conference, offered the strongest defense of the design of the Freedom Tower, which is expected to be America's tallest building. Concerns about security and construction realities forced changes to architect Daniel Libeskind's initial design. Some critics have bashed the latest design by architect David Childs which includes a 186-foot-tall (57-meter-tall) concrete base sheathed in glass. "I don't think it will look like a fortress," the Republican mayor said. "This building will send the message we want to the world, that New York City can recover. We were hit but are not bowed." When asked to comment on the design, Corzine and Spitzer said they were not experts. "This is a compromise between real security needs and aesthetics. ... In the context, the Freedom Tower is a remarkable product," said Spitzer, who comes from a prominent real estate family. FOR SALE? Spitzer and Corzine, a former chairman of Goldman Sachs, agreed they would consider proposals from hedge funds and real estate firms that want to buy the skyscraper. Though Manhattan's commercial real estate market is hot, there have been concerns about the Freedom Tower's ability to attract tenants. Port Authority officials have said some of their workers do not want to return to the World Trade Center site because it has been attacked twice: by hijacked jetliners in 2001 and a truck bomb in 1993. "I do not have any opposition at a philosophical level to possibly privatizing or selling the Freedom Tower," Spitzer said. New Jersey's Democratic governor said real estate was not the "primary mission" of the Port Authority, making a sale to private developers acceptable. "If these possibilities (for a sale) come to pass, we would be able to protect the public," Corzine said. The Port Authority, which built the Twin Towers, manages the region's bridges, tunnels, airports and some transportation facilities.
