By Roland Li
1 World Trade Center: The centerpiece of the new site is now over 80 stories high and is now the tallest building in Lower Manhattan. When completed, the spire will reach a symbolic 1,776 feet, making it the tallest building in the United States and third tallest in the world. David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the 3 million s/f building.
Beijing Vantone Industrial Company, a Chinese real estate company, was the first commercial tenant, leasing around 190,810 s/f. It plans to build a cultural and business center in its facilities.
Earlier this year, publisher Condé Nast signed a lease for over 1 million s/f. Just as Condé and others changed Times Square from a grimy sector to a media and retail center, Lower Manhattan is hoping that the publisher’s arrival will diversify the neighborhood’s existing finance base.
The Port Authority, New York State’s Office of General Services, and federal government’s General Service Administration have committed to office space, but may scale back as private demand increases.
A Cushman & Wakefield team led by Tara Stacom is the leasing agent for the tower.
2 World Trade Center: Also known as 200 Greenwich Street, the tower was designed by Lord Norman Foster of Foster and Partners, the British architect. The tower will rise to 1,270 feet, with an 80-foot antenna, making it the third tallest building in New York, behind the Empire State Building. 2 World Trade has diamond-shaped top and is controlled by Larry Silverstein.
The tower will also have five levels of retail, controlled by the Port Authority and Westfield Group. According to early plans, it will have four trading floors, 60 office floors and a total of 3.1 million rentable s/f. Offices will be 41,000 to 45,000 rentable s/f, and trading floors will be 65,000 s/f.
Construction is expected to reach ground level by 2012. No tenants have been signed at the building.
3 World Trade Center: Silverstein’s 175 Greenwich Street was designed by Richard Rogers of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. It will be 71 stories and 1,140 feet, with 2.47 million s/f of office space, with 54 office floors and five trading floors. Westfield and the Port will control the retail space. The tower may be built by 2015, but no tenants have been signed.
4 World Trade Center: 150 Greenwich Street is now over 40 stories tall and will eventually rise to 64 stories and 975 feet. Maki and Associates designed the building. The city will lease 14 floors of the building for $56.50 per s/f, or roughly a third of the structure,
5 World Trade Center: Silverstein has sold his rights to develop the site, which is the former location of the Deutsche Bank Building at 130 Liberty Street, a grim reminder of the attacks that was not fully demolished until this year. In 2007, a fire killed two firefighters on the site, leading to lawsuits involving the contractors. At one point, JPMorgan planned to built a headquarters for its investment banking, but now plans to relocate to the former Bear Sterns Building at 383 Madison Avenue. No recent plans for the site have been made.
Note: There is no 6 World Trade Center in the new plan. The original 6 World Trade Center was the 537,693 s/f U.S. Customs House on the northwest corner of the complex. That site is now the location for 1 World Trade Center.
7 World Trade Center: The first 7 World Trade Center was a 47-story trapezoid-shaped building, designed by Emery Roth & Sons and clad in red granite. After the twin towers collapsed, the building caught on fire and weakened, eventually collapsing later in the day. Larry Silverstein would open the new, 52-story building in 2006, with a reinforced concrete core and earning LEED Gold certification. David Childs, the architect of One World Trade Center, designed the tower, which has a highly reflective glass façade. The 1.7 million s/f building is nearly fully leased.
National September 11 Memorial & Museum: Michael Arad’s “Reflecting Absence,” made of two voids in the footprints of the original towers, will open on Sept. 12 to the public. Water cascades endlessly into the spaces, making them the two largest man-made waterfalls in the world. Along the bronze rim, the victims of the 2001 and 1993 attacks are etched, with individuals grouped by personal relationships chosen by their families. Throughout the eight-acre site, over 400 swamp white oak trees will be planted, irrigated by a complex system. An exhibition space and visitors’ center will be built above ground, while a below-grade museum will open in 2012. A line from Virgil’s Aeneid will pay tribute to the victims: “No day shall erase you from the memory of time.”
World Trade Center Transportation Hub: The Santiago Calatrava-designed hub, with a striking, bird-like form, will have a vast concourse and retail, similar to Grand Central Terminal. It will connect to all of the towers, the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden, the PATH train, and the MTA’s Fulton Street Transit Center.
Performing Arts Center: Frank Gehry has been commissioned to design the center, which will feature the Joyce Theater dance company and a 1,000-seat auditorium. It will be at the corner of Fulton Street and Greenwich Street, which will eventually be extended through the World Trade Center. The design has not been released.
