Construction on Three World Trade Center has stalled at the eighth floor due to developer Larry Silverstein's struggles to secure tenants for the building, the Wall Street Journal reported. The developer’s deal with his government backers allows him to halt construction until he finds tenants for at least 400,000 square feet (37,000 square meters).

Although construction began in 2010, Mr. Silverstein has been unable to fill the proposed 2.5 million square feet (232,000 square meters) of space due to a slow-down of the office market in Manhattan, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Plans for Two World Trade Center already have been shelved due to the slow market.

"So far in 2012, 40 percent of Manhattan leases tracked by real-estate brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield have been renewals of existing space, more than double the proportion in 2007," according to the Journal.

Mr. Silverstein's other project, Four World Trade Center, celebrated its topping out last month and is about half leased.

The Durst Organization, developer of One World Trade Center, the tallest building on the site, recently reported that the tower is now 55 percent leased.