World Trade Center Developments

[BrooklynRider]

It beats a hole in the ground and it beats a subterranean shopping concourse. But, being in New York City and a development under the world's microscope, I'd expect it to look less like a suburban mall.

It would be easier to swallow if those were retail bases supporting commercial towers.

[BPC]

GCT as a model is unsuitable to illustrate the difference of opinion concerning the Cortland St Arcade - enclosed or not, specifically, how it affects connections to surrounding streets.

In that case, would Greenwich St be the equivalent of E44th behind GCT? It's not one of my favorite streetscapes.?

E44th Street is fine. It has a decent Irish Bar.


Stating that an outdoor Cortlandt St relegates pedestrians to the outdoors is like stating that pedestrians at Lex and 42nd have to endure the elements.
?

Lexington Avenue and 42nd Street are major thoroughfares, akin to Church Street in this setting, not Cortland Street. Plus, they are on the edge of GCT, whereas Cortland would run staright through the middle of it.




GCT relates more to the PATH station; I don't see the logic of a comparison with Cortland St.

What GCT demonstrates is that this knee-jerk reaction against enclosed pedestrian spaces is based not in fact but in fad.


How about an enclosed space that is open at both ends during good weather, like an aircraft hanger?

Sorry, unless you can get rained on or run over the new Cortland Street, the Mayor will be against it.

[ZippyTheChimp]

You are missing the point.

The fact that GCT works (and it does) has no correlation to an enclosed Cortlandt St.

Apples and oranges.

GCT is an intermodal space with numerous choices within. Even if you don't like it, you still have to go there for Metro North.

A Cortlandt St passageway will be just that, a passageway. In one way, out the other. If thru-traffic is not encouraged, it could become dead mall space.

I don't think so. Part of the problem is that awful rendering.

[JMGarcia]

....I don't think so. Part of the problem is that awful rendering.

You got that right. :)

[NYguy]

It beats a hole in the ground and it beats a subterranean shopping concourse. But, being in New York City and a development under the world's microscope, I'd expect it to look less like a suburban mall.

It would be easier to swallow if those were retail bases supporting commercial towers.

That's the plan. That's always been the plan. Even the goofy Libeskind agreed to it. Whatever the design however, the bases need to "relate" to the buildings above them - the towers must not appear to be buildings supported by malls. We don't need another disconnected design like the Freedom Tower and its base.

Silverstein was supposed to be announcing his architects, and when he does, we'll hear what they have to say about it. Assuming, of course, its Silverstein that builds these towers.

[krulltime]

Mayor: No retail before towers at Ground Zero


November 22, 2005

More controversy courts the commercial future of Ground Zero. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said recently that he opposed the Port Authority's plans to build two retail structures that could support later office towers built on top. The retail buildings would house 375,000 square feet of stores. But Bloomberg said he didn't want the low-rise buildings going up ahead of any towers.

Copyright © 2003-2005 The Real Deal.


Realty Check

http://www.nypost.com/photos/comm112205036.jpg

By STEVE CUOZZO
November 22, 2005

Here's one more bone of contention in Ground Zero's free-for-all:

When the Port Authority unveiled its preliminary designs for a shopping mall on Church Street last week, PA Vice Chairman Charles Gargano told us work could start on the stores even before plans are finalized for the office towers Larry Silverstein is supposed to build on those sites.

Under what's called the "podium" scenario, the two retail structures to house 375,000 square feet of stores would be built first but engineered so that they could support office structures to be built on top of them later.

But Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a recent meeting with The Post's editorial board, said he opposed having low-rise buildings go up ahead of the towers because, "They'll be there forever."


Copyright 2005 NYP Holdings, Inc

[ablarc]

Whatever the design however, the bases need to "relate" to the buildings above them - the towers must not appear to be buildings supported by malls. We don't need another disconnected design like the Freedom Tower and its base.
There are many ways to achieve this, and not all involve designing towers and base integrally at the same time. Think Hearst Tower.

[TonyO]

But Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a recent meeting with The Post's editorial board, said he opposed having low-rise buildings go up ahead of the towers because, "They'll be there forever."

I couldn't have said it better. Building these first with the 'intention' of towers on top will result in having no towers there until 2050.

[BPC]

The Mayor is nuts. Better a thriving retail complex than a hole in the ground.

[vc10]

So what? If that's what the market says, that's what the market says. There's zero point in building towers that no one wants to occupy.

Or would you rather just leave a gaping hole until such time the commercial market in downtown needs more space?


I couldn't have said it better. Building these first with the 'intention' of towers on top will result in having no towers there until 2050.

[TonyO]

So what? If that's what the market says, that's what the market says. There's zero point in building towers that no one wants to occupy.

Or would you rather just leave a gaping hole until such time the commercial market in downtown needs more space?

Right, the market says that right now. But these towers wouldn't be completed until after 2010. Its speculative, but they will be class A buildings and the market will absorb them. Silverstein himself has said, these buildings will be occupied - there is no question.

[JMGarcia]

I completely agree with the mayor that building the low rises is a short-sighted mistake. Of course, there's lots of people for who the short term is all that matters so we will see how that works out.

Out of towers 3 and 4 the PA itself is likely to fill up one of them. I have no problem with the other being a hotel/residential and even commerical mix (ala TWC) as long as it is large enough so it won't seem out of place in the site plan. A mini tower will pretty much ruin the cohesion of the plan.

[krulltime]

'If you build it, he will come.' - that was from the movie 'Field of Dreams' with Kevin Costner.

I will say the same about Ground Zero. 'If you built them (Class A office towers), they will come' :)

[vc10]

Like 7 WTC? It's built, where are the tenants?

The original WTC took a heck of a long time to fill up.

Want a healthy commercial downtown? Don't build buildings. Build transportation links---that will create sufficient demand to build the buildings.


'If you build it, he will come.' - that was from the movie 'Field of Dreams' with Kevin Costner.

I will say the same about Ground Zero. 'If you built them (Class A office towers), they will come' :)

[Ninjahedge]

I think they need an integrated DESIGN for both, and let the mall space go up before the office towers.

If they design the whole kit and kaboodle now, it will make it easier for things to be built in the future 9as much as people keep saying "oh you can design the buildings below to have a towre built on them" have not done that kind of design.

You need to design something, even if it is a prototype, to put it on there, when you design it.

The more freedom you give to the future design, the less you have with the current "base".

At least if they design something now, they will have a design they can fall back on later. OR they can spend the extra $$ to redesign the towers as the clients see fit.

Just don't go ahead and build a mall with a platform and think that you can now build anything on top of it or we will be stuck with more of a mess than people are saying or will admit right now.


As for enclosed space, I remember when the Garden State Plaza on route 17 was an open mall. I rememebr having my grandmother drag me through the brick walled stores in February in NJ.

It sucked.

I think the idea of making it enclosed is fine, so long as they think more "Lobby", "Plaza" or Wintergarden rather than "Mall".

[Clarknt67]

There are many ways to achieve this, and not all involve designing towers and base integrally at the same time. Think Hearst Tower.
Maybe but in the case of the Hearst Tower the only part of the building they salvaged was the 4 outside/streetside walls. The rest the building was completely demolished. The impetus there was to save a landmarked building.

If they did the same with the "retail pedastals" there's really no point in building them at all, since it would probably be faster and easier to demolish them completely and start from square one.

Approaching a tower construction like the Hearst project would completely obliterate the impetus of building the pedastels first: encouraging street life and keep tax revenue flowing.

[NYguy]

NY OBSERVER

Mike And George Now Zero Buddies, How About Larry?

By Matthew Schuerman


Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s pre-election grumblings about Larry Silverstein didn’t get him very far. So, on Nov. 16, he took a cue from Governor George Pataki, who had taught him a thing or two about making major announcements single-handedly.

This time around, it was the Mayor who issued a unilateral press release at 4:30 on a Wednesday afternoon, announcing his lineup for the board overseeing Ground Zero rebuilding: two deputy mayors, the Planning Commission chairwoman and his finance commissioner, along with a couple of high-profile business leaders.

To have close and powerful confidants like these show up at the somnolent meetings of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is sort of like sending the 1927 Yankees out to play a farm team. And while Mr. Pataki had been expecting a move like that for some time, he was caught unaware enough that his own press release, listing two of his own appointees, barely came in time for that evening’s news.

(A Pataki ally told The Observer that the Mayor and Governor had been planning to announce the names together but never managed to coordinate the details.)

Decisions at Ground Zero are supposed to be guided by the LMDC board, half of whose 16 members are appointed by the Governor, the other half by the Mayor. But on Sept. 28, Mr. Pataki, acting alone, unceremoniously nixed the International Freedom Center, which had by then been thoroughly vilified by a number of vocal Sept. 11 family members.

At the time of Mr. Pataki’s declaration, Mr. Bloomberg had allowed six of the chairs he gets to fill at the boardroom table to remain empty for months. He wasn’t going to let that happen again.

If the Mayor needed another reason to exercise the Ground Zero muscle that he had let atrophy during his first term, the Freedom Center announcement was it, for it sent tuxedoed benefactors running up and down East Side dining rooms, yelping about how culture was dead at Ground Zero. At the same time, civic do-gooders wrung their hands about how Mr. Pataki had eviscerated the LMDC, which was on its way to making a decision about the Freedom Center a few days later.

Now it seems like the LMDC is more powerful than ever, at least the way the Mayor and Governor have been treating it, and is destined to play a more prominent role.

“It seems to me that there had been all these different rooms where backroom decisions had been made,” said David Kallick, who has been following the board as a senior fellow at the Fiscal Policy Institute. “Now it is clear where the playing field is: It’s at the LMDC. And so, presumably, this will open up the process more and make clear what are the Mayor’s and Governor’s positions.”

Kathryn Wylde, the president and C.E.O. of the Partnership for New York City, a business leadership group, predicts that the LMDC appointments will give corporate executives the confidence they need to make that plunge and rent in 7 World Trade Center, a 52-story building ready to open early next year just north of the World Trade Center site itself.

“The Mayor is obviously ratcheting up the city’s involvement, and that is definitely a positive step for encouraging additional commercial interest,” Ms. Wylde told The Observer. “As we see construction begin on the PATH terminal and on the Freedom Tower, those steps are very positive, and may end up putting [Mr.] Silverstein in a much more positive position.”

ALREADY, MR. BLOOMBERG SEEMS TO BE GETTING RESULTS.

Charles Gargano, the Governor’s top economic aide and one of Mr. Pataki’s new downtown appointees, has begun talking about the need for “flexibility” and said he supported converting some of the 10 million square feet of office space at the World Trade Center site into apartments, as Mr. Bloomberg had suggested during his campaign.

And so, instead of a brawl, Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Pataki appear to be chipping away at each other’s differences, inching closer to each other’s views, and pretending that they weren’t very far apart in the first place.

“What I have urged is that we take a look and see if the marketplace is in fact changing, and to see whether or not we should make adjustments,” Mr. Bloomberg said at a Nov. 21 press event. “The fundamental, overall plan we have been in agreement on since Day 1.”

But while these two gentlemen may be making up, they’re just the start of any process of changing the specs of the site—how much will be built, where and by whom—which reached a certain finality a year ago with the so-called Thanksgiving Agreement, a nine-page document signed last November by the Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff and Kenneth Ringler, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns most of the site. Changing that document will not be easy: The World Trade Center site is such a web of conflicted interests and anachronistic orthodoxies that placing an apartment building at Ground Zero would require the assent of—get this—the Governor of New Jersey! (Who—thankfully, for Mr. Bloomberg—is now a billionaire too.)

The next major decision, and the next opportunity for the Mayor to take a stand, will come in the run-up to a Dec. 8 hearing by a city development agency on the approximately $3.5 billion worth of Liberty Bonds that Mr. Silverstein wants to help finance the five commercial towers he is building on the site. Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer as well as Mr. Pataki have keenly supported the bond issue, backed by the federal government and with a low rate of interest. The Mayor, while in principle supporting the idea of using the bonds for Ground Zero, is in negotiations with Mr. Silverstein about how much to release and when.

MR. BLOOMBERG'S COOLNESS TOWARD MR. SILVERSTEIN may be just a roundabout way of tweaking the Governor, who generally supports the developer, or it may come in response to the rest of the real-estate world’s insistence that someone else—notably themselves—could do better at Ground Zero.

Mr. Bloomberg, in an October interview with the Daily News editorial board, famously said that the city would be better off buying out Mr. Silverstein’s lease at the World Trade Center site, and yet the developer has never been blamed publicly for any specific delays. The Freedom Tower went back to the drawing board ostensibly because the city police and the Port Authority couldn’t agree about security. Goldman Sachs hesitated on constructing it’s building because Mr. Pataki hadn’t decided whether or not to shelve a highway tunnel. In the end he did, and the investment bank is breaking ground next week.

The Mayor’s interest in converting some of that 10 million square feet into apartments—out of a belief that the city simply doesn’t need that much office space (and that it might be better built on the West Side)—is another story, however. This is because Mr. Silverstein’s insurance policy stipulates that he will receive the full $4.6 billion he has been awarded only if he re-creates the office space that he lost in the attack as office space.

Rebuilding 10 million square feet is not, however, a point that Mr. Silverstein has so far insisted upon, although he is strongly in favor.

A source familiar with the redevelopment process told The Observer that Mr. Bloomberg hasn’t discussed changing the November 2004 plan with the developer.

Meanwhile, the Mayor is learning that a larger obstacle to getting things done at Ground Zero may not be politics: It could be the Hudson River, which engineers are fighting to hold back from lower Manhattan’s landfill.

Even the unveiling on Nov. 18 of the Port Authority’s plans to build three-story shopping malls along Church Street—the better to speed up retail development—was more show than substance. Here were sketches about what can be built no sooner than mid-2008, when the Port Authority finishes that section of the slurry wall, and what would open no sooner than 2010, by which time the Mayor will have retired to a life of quiet philanthropy, if his stated ambitions are to be believed.

The developer insists that he is not the one slowing the process down. “As Larry Silverstein has demonstrated at 7 World Trade Center, he can build very quickly once he’s allowed to,” Silverstein spokesman Bud Perrone said in a statement. “He shares the Mayor’s desire to get construction moving along Church Street; however, the construction of buildings in that area of the site cannot proceed until the government finishes excavating and otherwise preparing those sites for development.”

Even those sketches are a contingency plan, in case Mr. Silverstein isn’t able to build the office towers that are supposed to go there.

The spot most often discussed for an apartment tower—the block south of Liberty Street—is currently occupied by the highly contaminated Deutsche Bank building, which survived the 2001 attack but is now being painstakingly taken apart in a process scheduled to last until mid-2007.

And dividing up the World Trade Center site into parcels to be simultaneously developed by different real-estate companies, Mr. Silverstein’s allies say, would cause unprecedented traffic, noise and pollution problems.

In other words, if Mr. Bloomberg wants to speed up development at Ground Zero, he is going to have to wait a while.

[NYguy]

There are many ways to achieve this, and not all involve designing towers and base integrally at the same time. Think Hearst Tower.


Hearst Tower. That's exactly what I don't want at the WTC. The tower itself is excellent. The tower and base together? No thank you.

[lofter1]

PA POWER GRAB

By GEORGE J. MARLIN
NY Post
http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/58111.htm

November 23, 2005 -- AFTER four years of inept state leadership that has failed to get shovels in the ground at Ground Zero, a bold Mayor Bloomberg recently told the public it was time to re-evaluate the redevelopment plans.

While I wish him well in his crusade, I caution him to be wary of that arrogant bureaucratic maze lurking in the shadows of lower Manhattan — the Port Authority.

Bloomberg this week left the door open to the PA's bid to take control of building the 9/11 Memorial. Bad idea.

As PA executive director, I began the Trade Center privatization process in 1995. Incensed PA bureaucrats vehemently resisted my efforts because they feared loss of control and clout. Those same interests are now plainly looking to worm their way back in.

For decades, the PA imposed its will on the region, placating local pols with funds for their pet pork projects. New York and New Jersey governors have fed off a PA slush fund called the Regional Economic Development Program — financed by hardworking, over-taxed commuters paying tolls to cross the Hudson River bridges and tunnels.

With a lame duck governor in a faceoff with a popular mayor to determine the future of Ground Zero, the PA is taking advantage of the political chaos to try to reclaim direct control of the site — and the vast cash flows that go with it.

First, PA bureaucrats publicly stated they are prepared to renegotiate with the financially-strapped Larry Silverstein. This is a gambit to oust the master leaseholder and regain oversight of the 16 acres.
Next, they leaned on the beleaguered WTC Memorial Foundation to hire the PA as general contractor. To soften board members, they tempted them with this inducement: a guarantee that the agency will absorb cost overruns.

In other words, the PA will eat the costs of their construction screwups. This represents a typical Port Authority deal — agency careerists using taxpayer dollars to buy control for themselves.

PA Chairman Ken Ringler naively claimed last week that the agency is merely offering "expertise" — its skill at "finding efficiencies." How Ringler read that script with a straight face is beyond me — for the PA has a storied history of waste and inefficiencies.

Over the years, the agency has squandered hundreds of millions of dollars on the JFK "Tunnel to Nowhere," the failed fish port, industrial parks and a language school. When Pataki became governor in 1995, the PA hadn't completed a major capital project in two decades.

Historically, the PA wasted resources supporting a bloated bureaucracy packed with unnecessary layers of highly paid management whose main concern was preservation of their power, their perks and their pensions.

Its own commissioned study, the 1994 Deloitte & Touche "Review of the Functional, Operational, Financial and Administrative Activities of the PA World Trade Department," detailed in 400 pages the agency's incompetence in managing commercial real estate — demonstrating that government bureaucrats are unsuited to be in that market.

The heroism of the Port Authority Police alongside their city counterparts on 9/11 shouldn't obscure the PA bureaucrats' record of incompetence.

Remember, rebuilding at Ground Zero was already set back 16 months because the PA stonewalled NYPD Commissioner Kelly's valid security concerns.

The results-oriented mayor just can't reward this kind of shortsightedness and obstructionism.

Mayor Bloomberg is right — the present plan to redevelop Ground Zero is flawed. But while fighting to implement his vision, he must fend off Port Authority power grabs. Because, if they succeed in taking command of Ground Zero, projects will be built to advance the PA's agenda — not that of 8 million New Yorkers.


George J. Marlin is a former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

[JMGarcia]

^As I predicted, the Post is doing Silverstein's PR for him again.

[Nordica]

Interesting to note that the LMDC is made up of government bureaucrats trying to manage a real estate project. They are also unsuited to that market. Who is?

[BrooklynRider]

I think the current make-up of the LMDC is the best equipped to clear the bureaucratic crap out of the way to move the project along...providing they are prepared to sideline the 911 "family" bullies.

[pianoman11686]

Does Putting Up a Glass Galleria Count as Bringing Back a Street?
By DAVID W. DUNLAP

Published: November 24, 2005

CORTLANDT - the street that was but isn't - may not be again.

Advancing its retail plans for the new World Trade Center, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey released renderings last week of a new passage where Cortlandt Street once ran, between Church and Greenwich Streets. They showed a multilevel, glass-walled shopping galleria called Cortlandt Way instead of a regular thoroughfare.

A strong planning tenet after 9/11 was that much of the old street grid obliterated by the trade center superblock in the 1960's ought to be restored, reconnecting the site with the rest of Lower Manhattan.

It seems certain now that several lost streets will return. But how public will they be? Since security dictates the wide separation of roadways from potential targets, it is hard to believe that any of the streets within the site will be open to unregulated traffic in the foreseeable future, even if they are not enclosed.

Enclosing a street raises even more issues. And City Hall is not yet convinced.

Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff said a galleria would diminish views to and from the 9/11 memorial. Joined to structures on Liberty and Dey Streets, it would create an unbroken two-block wall, he said. And it would be crossed by elevated walkways. "We generally frown upon bridges over the streets," Mr. Doctoroff said.

He said the authority had tried to respond to the city's concerns by enclosing the galleria in glass and recessing its facade, but he added, "We still have a lot of work to do."

Cortlandt Street was not ceded to the city by the authority in the Nov. 24, 2004, redevelopment agreement that returned Fulton and Greenwich Streets to municipal control. Instead, its fate was left to "be determined through mutual agreement."

City planners did not want a repeat of the underground trade center concourse, which drew shoppers - and vitality - from surrounding sidewalks. The authority is using the galleria to meet a goal in the agreement that 50 percent of retail space at the site be placed aboveground and to solve problems of light, wind and security posed by having two very tall towers less than 50 feet apart.

Cortlandt Way would be a counterpart to the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center, said Charles A. Gargano, the vice chairman of the authority. It would be a hub in a five-level, 505,000-square-foot shopping complex radiating through and under office towers on Church Street and the new PATH terminal.

The prospect of enlivening Church Street may temper some opposition to a galleria. "The natural predilection of the civic community is that streets should remain open," said Petra Todorovich, a senior planner at the Regional Plan Association. "On the other hand, we've been very supportive of the role retail can play in the revitalization of Lower Manhattan. We're not ruling out the Port Authority's proposal at all."

Cortlandt Street, from Broadway to the Hudson River, was given to the city in 1733 by Frederick Van Cortlandt and others. (Yes, that is a bell ringing. He later built Van Cortlandt Mansion on the family estate that is now Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.) Robert Fulton's steamboat departed from the foot of Cortlandt Street. Herman Melville lived there as a boy. In the 20th century, the west end became an electronics marketplace called Radio Row.

The block between Church and Greenwich Streets was home to the Cortlandt Building of the Hudson Terminal complex, predecessor to PATH; Peter Henderson & Company, a famous gardening store; Volk's restaurant; and Syms men's apparel, whose proprietor, Sy Syms, was an outspoken trade center opponent.

Cortlandt Street was the site of the first property acquired for the trade center in 1965, the first building torn down for the center in 1965 and the earliest construction in 1966.

THEN, three blocks of it were wiped out. A line drawn along its route would have run through 4 World Trade Center, 2 World Trade Center (the south tower) and 3 World Trade Center (the Marriott hotel).

After the attack, once the tower footprints were ruled out as a development site, there was no chance of recreating the west end. But in 2003, by a vote of 36 to 2, Community Board 1 called for the east end to be "a public open street lined with street-level retail establishments."

Madelyn Wils, a member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board, who was then chairwoman of the community board, said: "I always felt that Cortlandt Street should be open. Open as a view corridor. Open in a friendly, pedestrian way. Open - even if not in our lifetime - to vehicular traffic."

A galleria would frustrate physical and visual connections and send an ominous planning signal about Fulton and Greenwich Streets, said Fredric M. Bell, executive director of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

"If, little by little, the streets get closed as easily as the Port Authority assumes Cortlandt Street will be closed," he said, "the big streets will be next."

Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

[BPC]

Does Putting Up a Glass Galleria Count as Bringing Back a Street?
By DAVID W. DUNLAP

Published: November 24, 2005

CORTLANDT - the street that was but isn't - may not be again.

... A galleria would frustrate physical and visual connections and send an ominous planning signal about Fulton and Greenwich Streets, said Fredric M. Bell, executive director of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects. ...

The architecture establishment is so brain dead, it's no wonder America has lost the ability to create urban environments like New York any more. The only one striking visual element in the current WTC site plan -- Calatrava's train station -- is encircled with tall buildings, yet the only thing Bell is concerned with is maintaining the "visual connection" with Arad's two holes in the ground? Somebody please tell Mr. Bell that you won't be able to see the holes from Church Street regardless of what is done with Courtland.

[lofter1]

^ Per the original Master Plan: Given the placement of the proposed buildings and angles of the streets, an open Cortland St. would be the only unobstructed sight corridor from any distance outside the 16 acres on the east side of the site. Washington St. on the south side of the site offers the only other unobstructed sight corridor.

True, you will not be able to see the holes / voids since they will be underground. But the low-rise walls surrounding the voids would be visible looking into the site from either Washington or Cortland.

It's sad that Calatrava's beautiful transit structure will be crowded by buildings on the north and south -- this is a building that wants room to breathe (and although Liebeskind's Master Plan provided for a "wedge" on the building site north of the transit hub, I'm not too trustful that that delineation will be honored). Hopefully the discussed downsizing of the Snohetta (formerly the cultural building) will help give the Calatrava building some room to fly, as it were.

[lofter1]

Survivors Begin Effort to Save Stairway That Was 9/11 'Path to Freedom'

NY Times
By DAVID W. DUNLAP (http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=DAVID W. DUNLAP&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=DAVID W. DUNLAP&inline=nyt-per)
November 25, 2005

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/25/nyregion/25remnant.html?adxnnl=1&8hpib=&adxnnlx=1132925178-SG0C90osBvp+6KXLVFw7EQ


These were the final steps.

After hundreds of workers made a terrifying floor-by-floor descent from their offices in the sky on 9/11, as the twin towers shuddered and rained ruin, they found a gangway to safety from the elevated plaza down the Vesey Street stairs.


http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/11/25/nyregion/25remnat650.1.jpg
Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
Patty Clark, left, and Kayla Bergeron, revisiting the Vesey Street stairway
at ground zero on Nov. 17.

"They were the path to freedom," recalled Kayla Bergeron, the chief of public and government affairs for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Her own 68-story journey ended as she walked down that staircase with Patty Clark, a senior aviation adviser at the authority, hand in hand for the last few yards to Vesey Street.

These are the final steps in another sense. The Vesey Street staircase, also called the "survivors' stairway," is the World Trade Center's last above-ground remnant.



http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gifhttp://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/11/25/nyregion/25remnant650.2.jpghttp://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gifhttp://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/misc/spacer.gif
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Kayla Bergeron, left, and Patty Clark walked together to safety on 9/11.


It escapes much public attention because, from the street, it is almost unrecognizable.

Closer up, however, two flights of stairs come into view, next to what looks like a concrete slide but was once the base of an escalator. The upper steps still have their crisp granite treads. The lower steps are as craggy as a Roman antiquity. They convey a sense of human scale on the gigantically emptied landscape of ground zero.

But they also stand within the outline of the future Tower 2, an office building planned by Silverstein Properties. That is why a preservation effort has begun. Possibilities include moving the staircase elsewhere on the trade center site, making it an architectural feature attached to or enclosed by Tower 2, or - far less likely - redrawing the Tower 2 outline to avoid it.

"It's certainly a very significant remembrance of what happened that day," said Charles A. Gargano, vice chairman of the Port Authority, on a visit to the staircase last week with Ms. Bergeron and Ms. Clark. "Somehow I would hope that it can be preserved somewhere in the site, if not within Building 2."

The World Trade Center Survivors' Network hopes the stairs can stay rooted. "There's a great power in their being where they were," said Gerry Bogacz, a founding member of the group. "After the south tower collapsed, that was the only way anyone could get off the plaza."

Peg Breen, the president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and Frank E. Sanchis III, the senior vice president of the Municipal Art Society, have also asked that the staircase be permanently preserved in place.

"There will never be another original element of the World Trade Center complex in its original street-level location," they wrote to the site's developer, Larry A. Silverstein, on Nov. 10.

Silverstein Properties had no comment.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Ms. Clark and Ms. Bergeron separately made their way down more than 40 stories of 1 World Trade Center, the north tower, and found each other on the 23rd floor. As they reached a landing in a stairwell on the fourth or fifth floor, the south tower collapsed. There was a terrific noise, then a violent vibration. "At that point," Ms. Bergeron said, "I thought we were going to die."

Ms. Clark looked up to see the stairwell itself twisting. Then the lights went out. "You just closed your eyes and you prayed that it be over," she said, adding, "And then it stopped and the lights came back on."

Getting out of the tower proved hellish, too, through calf-high water, under dangling electrical wires, by a dim emergency light that faded to darkness. They felt their way along a row of lockers, until a firefighter opened a door.

What greeted them outside was a dust cloud so opaque and white that it appeared luminous. "It was light," Ms. Clark said, "but you could not see."
Rather than dash across the open plaza, they made their way under the protective eaves of the United States Custom House and 5 World Trade Center to Vesey Street.

"What we had to walk over getting out of 1, if we had to negotiate out to Church Street - I'm not certain that we'd be having this conversation," Ms. Clark said.

Their trial did not end when they reached the Vesey Street staircase. A large man ahead of Ms. Clark began to clutch his chest. "I hit him," she recalled. "I'm like: 'Buddy, keep going. You cannot have gotten this far and not get out of here.' "

At the base of the stairs, Ms. Clark said, a Port Authority police officer heading back into the building stopped to allow the man to use his respirator - a gesture that may have saved the officer's life.

Speaking personally, Ms. Clark called the Vesey Street staircase a "monument to all of us" that embodies the metaphorical power of steps.

"It's religious. It's literary," she said. " 'Ladder of success.' 'Jacob's ladder.'

It's all of those things. 'Step program.' It's all very much woven into how we explain things. 'Stairway to heaven.' "

Ms. Clark said: "Your image of the World Trade Center is two towers piercing the sky. This is the only thing that's above grade. And the only remnant that was part of that thing that pierced the sky."



Copyright 2005 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html)The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)

[lofter1]

Apartments Ahead?

New York Sun
BY DAVIDSON GOLDIN
November 25, 2005

http://www.nysun.com/article/23539


When Mayor Bloomberg first mused last month about apartment buildings at the World Trade Center site, City Hall aides privately whispered that their boss was fantasizing about a perfect world rather than previewing a plan of action for his second term. But since the election, Mr. Bloomberg has ramped up the apartment-talk and he now seems determined to exert control over the rebuilding process.

Apartments are likely after all.

At first glance, Mr. Bloomberg is on a collision course with Governor Pataki - who has been pushing to rebuild the entire 10 million square feet of office space lost on September 11. Mr. Pataki initially said he was "perplexed" by Mr. Bloomberg's desire for apartments, and just last week told me he told me he doesn't see "any need for any public discussion beyond what occurs in the normal circumstance." But the two leaders agree about much more than they disagree about.

Mr. Pataki is concerned primarily with the three most symbolic parts of the redevelopment process: the Freedom Tower, the transit hub, and the memorial. Mr. Bloomberg is firmly on board with these iconic structures. Their dispute involves only the eastern strip of the site along Church Street, which is most easily described as the long block across from the Century 21 department store.

A year ago this month, Mr. Bloomberg signed on to the master plan calling for three office buildings – Towers Two, Three, and Four - to line the street. Mr. Bloomberg now objects to two of those buildings, totaling about a third of the office space planned for the entire site. Mr. Bloomberg argues that Lower Manhattan should be a 24-hour community that doesn't revolve solely around the financial industry. He also argues that Lower Manhattan simply can't absorb all the office space the World Trade Center complex once provided.

Notably, none of those objections involves any of the projects nearest and dearest to Mr. Pataki's personal and political priorities. In fact, the governor's aides concede Mr. Pataki's interest in using Towers Two, Three, and Four as office space is based on his concern that the site's developer, Larry Silverstein, won't meet other commitments if those office towers - which will theoretically generate substantial revenue some day - go away.

But Mr. Silverstein's track record inspires something short of 100% confidence. He does deserve incalculable credit for quickly building World Trade Center Seven, on the northern part of the site. While government-led projects stumble and stall, the one building entirely under Mr. Silverstein's control is virtually finished. That's a fantastic accomplishment, and Mr. Silverstein has definitively proven that he can build quickly and efficiently.
But buildings need tenants, and Mr. Silverstein has announced none - despite generous taxpayer funded cash incentives for any business willing to move in.

Just last weekend, Mr. Silverstein distributed a glossy newspaper insert practically begging businesses to move into his state-of-the art building.

Most office buildings line up tenants before construction begins. Mr. Silverstein instead relied on the wishful "Field of Dreams" doctrine - "If you build it, they will come" - that is better suited for the movies than billion-dollar construction projects.

Most ominously, even the Port Authority - which owns the trade center land - won't commit to moving into any of the new buildings. The Freedom Tower, like Tower Seven, is being built "on spec" with no guaranteed tenants.

Mr. Silverstein finds himself in a difficult situation that is largely not his fault.
The developer took over the 16-acre complex just weeks before the September 11 attacks and still pays $10 million a month in rent. But his inability to find any tenants proves Mr. Bloomberg's point that downtown needs more than office towers.

Mr. Silverstein's most powerful ally is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, whose district includes the entire World Trade Center complex. Mr. Silver lashed out at the mayor's demand for apartments and also a hotel by labeling the idea "absurd" and vowing to block any proposal that would jeopardize his district's status as the world's financial capital. While Mr. Silver wields enormous power, he might not be able to save Mr. Silverstein.

Earlier this year, Mr. Pataki lost patience with Mr. Silverstein when the developer asked Albany to help pay for security enhancements to the Freedom Tower. When Mr. Pataki retaliated by exploring how the state's eminent domain power could condemn Mr. Silverstein's lease, Mr. Silverstein quickly got the hint and stopped complaining.

Now the mayor is the one itching to strip Mr. Silverstein's control. He has suggested the Port Authority could sell the land under Towers Three and Four to another developer more willing to consider housing options, and the mayor has also accused of Mr. Silverstein of scaring off tenants by charging too much rent. Mr. Silverstein's alliance with Mr. Silver puts an even bigger bull's eye on the target.

Mr. Bloomberg is still furious at Mr. Silver for blocking his dream of a West Side stadium over the summer. The stadium may be off the table, but Mr. Bloomberg still envisions a new commercial district on the Far West Side that would be served by an expansion of the No. 7 subway line. Mr. Bloomberg would be quite content to shift office space uptown.

Mr. Silverstein needs to lock up tenants fast for Seven World Trade Center because an empty office tower is the mayor's strongest argument for shifting from office space to apartments. The mayor just won re-election by a big margin, and the governor is gearing up for presidential politics. If the Freedom Tower, transit hub, and memorial stay on track, look for Mr. Pataki to give Mr. Bloomberg a win on this fight. After all, apartments are a lot less controversial than the commuter tax.

[americasroof]

For jollies check out what Daniel Libeskind did when given full reign for a 911 memorial which just opened in Padua,Italy.

http://911memorials.org/?p=297

It's a soaring memorial (a book!) that includes ruins from the WTC.

But the big kicker is that the spine of the book is based on Libeskind's claim that Padua and New York share the same latitude.

New York is below the 41st northern latitude while Padua is more than 300 miles north on the 45th latitude.

The 45th latitude got much play in the urban legends after 911 when folks claimed Nostradamus predicted WWIII would start after the city would burn at 45 degrees. Nostradamus never wrote such a verse. And even if he had New York is nowhere close to the 45th parallel.

Libeskind's whole concept for Ground Zero is that a wedge of light (preferrably from his golden temple) would hit the memorial each Sept. 11. Most people have said his calculations were wildly off. Still the Port Authority's $2 billion subway/path station is being built to that specification and Libeskind has always said he is most proud that his wedge of light has survived the battles at Ground Zero.

With a 300 mile mistake how does Libeskind still get away with the New Age nonsense for downtown? I think I'm going to have give Pataki all my Yanni CD's.

[lofter1]

check out what Daniel Libeskind did when given full reign for a 911 memorial which just opened in Padua,Italy.

An oddly literal and unattractive piece of work as well (maybe it plays better in person).

[BPC]

... Libeskind's whole concept for Ground Zero is that a wedge of light (preferrably from his golden temple) would hit the memorial each Sept. 11. Most people have said his calculations were wildly off. Still the Port Authority's $2 billion subway/path station is being built to that specification ....

Not true. The Path station is not being built to any such "specification." It is being built exactly where PA and Calatrava want it to be, which is different than what Libeskind specified. Only some lip service was paid to the wedge, in order to save face for the (admittedly prevaricating) Libeskind.

[ZippyTheChimp]

For jollies check out what Daniel Libeskind did when given full reign for a 911 memorial which just opened in Padua,Italy.

http://911memorials.org/?p=297

The first sentence of the article is in error.
Daniel Libeskind, who came up with the plan to bury and hide the 911 memorial in New York...I think that was Michael Arad.


With a 300 mile mistake how does Libeskind still get away with the New Age nonsense for downtown?So, our problems with the site boil down to Latitude.

[americasroof]

The first sentence of the article is in error.I think that was Michael Arad.

The original Libeskind master plan called for the memorial to be on a grand piazza 70 feet below street level (it was later pushed up to 30 feet because of technical issues) and cultural buildings to overhang the footprints. The memorial contest called for contestants to meet that specification. Arad's original design actually put the memorial at street level and threw out the overhanging buildings. All the other finalists kept the overhanging buildings and kept the memorial buried.

[americasroof]

Not true. The Path station is not being built to any such "specification." It is being built exactly where PA and Calatrava want it to be, which is different than what Libeskind specified. Only some lip service was paid to the wedge, in order to save face for the (admittedly prevaricating) Libeskind.
The $2 billion subway station is placed on the same angle as Libeskind's wedge and there was a great deal of drama in the Freedom Center design to make sure the light hit the tracks at just the right angle.

[BPC]

The $2 billion subway station is placed on the same angle as Libeskind's wedge and there was a great deal of drama in the Freedom Center design to make sure the light hit the tracks at just the right angle.

Say what you want, but the fact of the matter is, neither the FT nor the Path Station are where Libeskind placed his (very different shaped) versions of the same buildings, so I think you are attaching a lot of significance to a "wedge of light" idea that has zero relevance among the actual planners (the PA, Childs and Calatrava) as opposed to the pretend one.

[lofter1]

As you say yourself: Libeskind's original proposal placed the memorial at bedrock with the "bathtub" of the WTC exposed -- hardly "buried":

http://www.renewnyc.com/plan_des_dev/wtc_site/new_design_plans/firm_d/slides/images/Slide3.jpg

[lofter1]

After revisiting Libeskind's original Master Plan presentation from 12/02 ( http://www.renewnyc.com/plan_des_dev/wtc_site/new_design_plans/firm_d/slides/slide31.asp ) it is striking that the thematic unity for the site is now gone. One great strength of Libeskind's plan was the sense of movement and connection (through the placement of various components) that he was able to create within those 16 acres.

The plan as it has evolved is far more static and rigid.

Unfortunately for NYC this rigidity is a perfect compliment to the times in which we now live. But hardly what was hoped for.

[americasroof]

Say what you want, but the fact of the matter is, neither the FT nor the Path Station are where Libeskind placed his (very different shaped) versions of the same buildings, so I think you are attaching a lot of significance to a "wedge of light" idea that has zero relevance among the actual planners (the PA, Childs and Calatrava) as opposed to the pretend one.

The subway station is not Libeskind's shape but it is at an odd angle and lined up with the wedge. This has been the only development at Ground Zero that Libeskind has consistently praised.
http://911memorials.org/albums/current-wtc-memorial-bad-design/wtc_lmdc_plan.sized.jpg

[JMGarcia]

The "opening" spine and both wings of the Calatrava station are aligned to the angles of Libeskind's original Wedge of Light.

Arad put the memorial underground be covering it with a roof with 2 holes in if for the footprint fountains. The memorial is now buried underneath a plaza. the plaza is not the memorial. The original plan was for the memorial to be open air but below street level.

[americasroof]

As you say yourself: Libeskind's original proposal placed the memorial at bedrock with the "bathtub" of the WTC exposed -- hardly "buried":

Libeskind's winning design clearly had the culture buildings overhanging the footprints.
http://www.renewnyc.com/plan_des_dev/wtc_site/new_design_plans/firm_d/slides/images/Slide17.jpg

The overhanging buildings were carried into the WTC Memorial Competition rules.
http://911memorials.org/albums/libeskind/wtc_light_wedge.sized.jpg

Thus you could say the memorial was buried under the buildings.

After the WTC Jury redesigned the Arad memorial and removed the buildings, Libeskind said it was a mistake to have covered the footprints.

The memorial competition probably would have been much different if the designers did not have to accomodate the buried footprints rule.

[ZippyTheChimp]

The biggest mistake made in the site plan was removing Libeskind's wing-buildings. Along with the cantilevered museum, the site provided shielding for the memorial, and a gateway/focus.

Regardless of what Libeslind may have said for public-relations purposes, the present memeorial and its relationship to the site are nothing like he envisioned. What you have now is a truly buried memorial, with a lid on it. The ground level plaza is a diluted space, with no power. It will be regarded as parkland by New Yorkers, and memorial space by "the families" - a constant source of tension between the two.

[Nordica]

The biggest mistake is to confuse "master plan" with "architecture".
I doubt that a real master plan has ever been implemented.

[Citytect]

Libeskind designed his "master plan" with only his architecture in mind. The plan lacks any flexibility. He thought he would have more control over the site than he has received. In a way, I think his "master plan" was simply a vehicle for him to design the buildings on site. He hoped to be architect of the new WTC, so he created a master plan for the buildings he envisioned - a backwards approach.

I'm not knocking Libeskind. I like his proposal. But it wasn't feasible for many reasons. It shouldn't have been selected unless Silverstein was willing to give architecture responsibilities to Libeskind himself.

[Nordica]

The competition that ended with hiring Libeskind was more of a publicity stunt than a backwards approach. Unless no one, including Libeskind, understood what a master plan is and what they were hiring him to do.

Master planning works around mundane issues, essential infrastructure, traffic, demographics, ect to determine highest and best use, and placement of structures, size, height and so forth. It's extensive number crunching.

Whatever Libeskind was paid to do, there is still no real master plan.

[Citytect]

I know what a master plan is. I was calling Libeskind's design approach backwards not the competition.

[Nordica]

I see, my reference to your post was worded poorly. My point was the design doesn't play as a master plan, none of the entries did. What was the competition for?
There doesn't seem to be a master planner, though there were fees paid as such.

[Citytect]

Yeah, the "master plan" hasn't given much direction to the development of the site. It wasn't a proper master plan to begin with, and numerous changes to it have only made it worse.

[lofter1]

As someone from outside the architectural biz (and someone who hoped that the THINK proposal would have been the chosen winner -- although I shudder to think what the idiots in charge would have done with that artful proposal) I must ask:

What was it about Libeskind's Master Plan -- for that is what it was called and what we nincompoops (aka "the public") were all led to believe it was --that failed to address the necessities of a generic master plan?

It seems that Libeskind and his team dealt in a fairly detailed way with the placement of the various required components (infrastructure, transportation, retail, commercial, memorial, cultural, etc.) as well as with issues of access & movement through the site.

Were the problem areas that have now arisen (cooling plant, ventilation, security, etc.) adequately laid out in the "instructions" prepared by PA and made available to those who submitted proposals?

And would not those things that are now seen as Libeskind's failures been problematic for any of the final proposals once they moved from a "Plan" and reached the current stage of preparation for construction?

[ablarc]

And would not those things that are now seen as Libeskind's failures been problematic for any of the final proposals once they moved from a "Plan" and reached the current stage of preparation for construction?
Yep, that's normal. I do master plans and neither I nor my clients expect them to solve all future technical problems. If they did, there wouldn't be much left to do.

[lofter1]

^ Thanks, ablarc. In your opinion was what Libeskind came up with a "proper" Master Plan, or just a fanciful bunch of drawings (or something in between)?

[ZippyTheChimp]

I am a bit confused by statements that there is no working master plan. Its existence seems evident to me.

I think there is confusion among the population, due in large amount to the presentations of the architects, as to what a master plan is. All the attention was focused on the FT, in all its permutations, rather than a discussion of the layout of the site and how the components relate to each other.

Master plans do not determine the look of a building, but design criteria - facade materials, street furniture, sidewalk widths, setbacks, etc, can be specified.

Given the original parameters for the site:
1. At least two streets (Greenwich and Fulton) should run through the site.
2. The memorial quadrant was defined around the towers footprints.
3. No commercial or retail structures would be allowed on the memorial side of the street.
4. The pre-09/11 location of the PATH tracks.
Could there be any significant deviation from the present site plan, with commercial and retail in an inverted L?

Master plans undergo evolution. The PATH station and the current debate over Cortlandt St are good examples.

There have been blatant violations of the master plan. The Arad Memorial and the unilateral removal of the IFC are good examples.

The "bird cage" FT may have violated the master plan, in that the footprint was outside what was specified.

[ablarc]

In your opinion was what Libeskind came up with a "proper" Master Plan, or just a fanciful bunch of drawings (or something in between)?
Depends on your expectations and therefore definition.

Some folks think a proper master plan is all about numbers. So they crunch and they crunch and they crunch, and they give birth to a mouse. And then the numbers get obsolete in next to no time anyway. These are the plans that gather dust and get ignored; they never excited anyone to begin with. You can't generate inspired physical form from numbers.

After preliminary consideration of general numbers, other master plans proceed to the business of arranging an appropriate or brilliant physical disposition of these rough numbers. Inevitably this includes a "look." These are the plans that turn people on, and they can always be deconstructed into precise numbers if that's what's desired. By this criterion, Libeskind produced a master plan.



PS Personally I don't think it's a very good master plan, but he didn't take money under false pretenses.

[Nordica]

Good informative post ablarc.

I've read somewhere, maybe in this thread, that the Libeskind plan is very similar to one of the initial proposals put forth by Beyer Blinder Belle, but Libeskind was at least able to turn the Gov on with a snazzier look.

They both must have worked from similar rough numbers, which you say are constantly changing. I´m wondering if Studio Libeskind is still involved and is making necessary revisions. Or has the contract been fulfilled?

Care to comment?

[ablarc]

From what I read here and in the papers, most folks just want him to go away.

[antinimby]

Truth is, you don't really need to know how to read to get that feeling.;)

He is taking full advantage of the notoriety he's getting for winning the GZ competition, isn't he?
I mean, did anybody other than his wife, knew who he was before 9/11? (I know, he did do some obscure Holocaust memorial in Germany prior)

[Ninjahedge]

Yep, that's normal. I do master plans and neither I nor my clients expect them to solve all future technical problems. If they did, there wouldn't be much left to do.

We all know that there is no difference between DD and CD, right? ;)

[TonyO]

November 30, 2005 Edition

Apartments at Ground Zero?

New York Sun Staff Editorial
November 30, 2005
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/23717

Mayor Bloomberg, having been defeated in his plan to build a Jets stadium on the West Side of Manhattan, is now turning his frustrated real-estate developer ambitions downtown, pressing a campaign to get some of the 10 million square feet of office space planned for ground zero converted to residential uses. While Mr. Bloomberg has his streaks of brilliance, it's not clear so far that real estate development is among them, and there's something off-putting about the mayor trying to bully a private developer, Larry Silverstein, into building what the mayor wants rather than what the developer wants. Mr. Silverstein is a professional real estate man with a fiduciary responsibility to his investors and to his family to build on the site in the way that he thinks will earn the highest returns.

It's not that there's anything wrong with building new housing downtown or, for that matter, with the construction of new market-rate housing anywhere else in the city. But as the tragedy of Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn shows, once the "affordable housing" pressure groups and their allies in the Bloomberg administration get done chewing up and spitting out a proposed residential development in this city, the result is that private developers are forced to create new subsidized units. These create all the same problems that the state has been trying, however slowly, to phase out in rent-regulation in New York, such as empty-nesters holding on to absurdly under-priced three-bedroom apartments, landlords with little incentive to improve their properties, tenants with little incentive to move into the free market for housing, even if they can afford it.

No wonder that Mr. Silverstein is so far sticking to office space. Perhaps he read a column by Robert L. Bartley that ran in the paper he edited, The Wall Street Journal, on September 23, 2002. "Mayor Michael Bloomberg puts his emphasis not on protecting the vitality of downtown but on building housing. It's easy to guess that someone who made a fortune selling computer screens sees the future as telecommuting, and underrates face-to-face contact at the highest levels of world commerce," wrote Bartley, who died on December 10, 2003. He warned, "If the talent and investment in Wall Street dissipates, it will flow partially to midtown, but also to London and points around the globe."

Mr. Bloomberg was propelled to re-election in part by homeowners in the new New York concerned about preserving the gains in property values that were achieved in the mayor's first term. Creating more homeowners with a stake in the city's success is good for the city and good for the mayor politically; it is in part what gives Mr. Bloomberg the political clout to influence ground zero decision-making. But having the mayor rather than the market dictate development decisions in the city subjects private land use decisions to political whim; what other than Mr. Bloomberg's preferences dictated that the far West Side was right for a football stadium but that ground zero is the place for apartments? Why not apartments for the far West Side?

Mourning, politics, and real estate development make strange bedfellows. As the New York Post has pointed out, the owners of two newspapers commenting and reporting on this drama, the News and the Times, have their own Manhattan commercial real estate holdings of which to think. And the memorial at the World Trade Center site is a separate issue. But in respect of land use on the rest of the site, the decisions are like most other ones about the allocation of resources - best left to the free market, where the ones bearing the risk can make the decisions. In this instance that means letting the lease-holder, Mr. Silverstein, make them without a lot of public second-guessing from the mayor.

[ZippyTheChimp]

I agree that there is no need for housing on the WTC site, but....

But as the tragedy of Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn shows, once the "affordable housing" pressure groups and their allies in the Bloomberg administration get done chewing up and spitting out a proposed residential development in this city, the result is that private developers are forced to create new subsidized units. These create all the same problems that the state has been trying, however slowly, to phase out in rent-regulation in New York, such as empty-nesters holding on to absurdly under-priced three-bedroom apartments, landlords with little incentive to improve their properties, tenants with little incentive to move into the free market for housing, even if they can afford it.

equating rent-control with the meager 80-20 rule for affordable (read not astronomical) housing prices is ridiculous. Developers eagerly snatch up property by agreeing to use the 80-20 rule, then slap luxury titiles on mediocre buildings to charge inflated prices to people who don't know what luxury is.

[TonyO]

I agree that there is no need for housing on the WTC site, but....

equating rent-control with the meager 80-20 rule for affordable (read not astronomical) housing prices is ridiculous. Developers eagerly snatch up property by agreeing to use the 80-20 rule, then slap luxury titiles on mediocre buildings to charge inflated prices to people who don't know what luxury is.

Good catch. Supply-siders (like the NY Sun) always equate any form of subsidy as bad. Funny how you rarely hear the developers complain (at least publicly) about this rule when putting up residential buildings in the city. Its usually arm-chair developers like this editorialist (also funny how he makes a similar accusation against Bloomberg).

[ZippyTheChimp]

I generally like the Sun reporting; just have to filter out some of its editorials. :)

[NYguy]

DAILY NEWS

Hearing due on Silverstein's bond bid


World Trade Center site developer Larry Silverstein faces a public hearing next week in his bid for $3.4 billion in taxexempt Liberty Bonds.

But he has yet to win vital support for his plans from Mayor Bloomberg.

The mayor said again yesterday that he's "not a believer" in the need for 10 million square feet of office space and also fears the prolonged construction of four more office towers will scare off prospective tenants.

In an interview on WABC-AM radio, he said, "I am very strong on getting a lot of these things going simultaneously rather than consecutively, because it is harder to rent space when people say, 'This is going to be a building site for the next 15 years.'"

Bloomberg has proposed making housing a big part of the mix at the site.

In a further challenge to Silverstein, Bloomberg added, "Maybe one developer can do it all, and maybe different developers can do [it] simultaneously."

Silverstein, who is finishing up the 52-story 7 World Trade Center building, wants to put the Liberty Bonds toward four of his five other proposed office towers.

Bloomberg wants the two towers at the southeast corner, "which sort of connect the ... site to the rest of the downtown," to get underway "at the same time as the others."

Silverstein, who is due to start the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower this spring, says in his bond application that he'd spend the proceeds on construction at the site through 2015.

Next Thursday's hearing is before the board of the New York City Industrial Development Agency. The panel will later vote on the bond package, if it's first approved by the city and state.

In an analysis released late yesterday, the agency said the four towers will cost a total of about $7.5 billion and hold 35,200 officer workers.

Bettina Damiani, project director of Good Jobs New York, said Silverstein's stated assumption that he'll lease 40% of each tower in the first year is "overly optimistic." She questioned whether the bonds are a "wise investment for taxpayers."

Early this week, Silverstein said, "There's little doubt in my mind that we will work this through and get it [bond approval] done."

[PHLguy]

Why is he overly confident? He's botched everything so far! 7WTC doesn't have any tenants!

[NYguy]

Why is he overly confident? He's botched everything so far! 7WTC doesn't have any tenants!


Botched how?

7 doesn't have any tenants yet, but the building is there, taller (yet smaller) than before, and built as planned (renderings and all). That's as much as you can ask for.

Silverstein hasn't had a hand in all of the problems created thus far (the memorial, the cultural center, building on West St delays, etc.)

[TonyO]

NY Post

DOWNTOWN 'JOB BOOM'

By STEFAN C. FRIEDMAN

December 3, 2005 -- World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein's plans for five new buildings at Ground Zero would create nearly 48,000 construction jobs, says a report obtained yesterday by The Post.
The figure was in a cost/benefit analysis by the Industrial Development Agency on Silverstein's request for several billion in tax-exempt Liberty Bonds.

The "one-time city tax impact of new construction" would be $220 million, according to the IDA.

The analysis clears the way for a public hearing to be held on the issue as early as next week, even as Mayor Bloomberg — in a rebuke to Silverstein — recently called for using some of the land at Ground Zero for housing instead of office space.

[PHLguy]

Botched how?

7 doesn't have any tenants yet, but the building is there, taller (yet smaller) than before, and built as planned (renderings and all). That's as much as you can ask for.

Silverstein hasn't had a hand in all of the problems created thus far (the memorial, the cultural center, building on West St delays, etc.)


I guess I shouldn't say Silverstein directly but Ground zero has been botched, 4 years+ and nothing is there, and more delays on the way. The delays are why I don't think the Freedom Tower will ever get built, the people running this are just not confident enough.

[czsz]

Political grandstanding and petty inerpersonal rivalries are just part of the story of Ground Zero, though. Careful consideration and public debate over the proposed designs have been another. Would it really have been better to have thrown up the earliest and easiest proposal without having gone through any deliberatory process?

[NoyokA]

I'll agree that its a question of confidence.

But now I would say its more of a question of confidence not to built it. Who has enough confidence to derail this project after all its been through?

[antinimby]

I wish Bloomberg would quit with all his residential rants. I know he's just showing that he's responding to the poll where NYer's said they wanted to see him take more control of the site. While his sudden enthusiasm to get the pace to move quicker is commendable, his inane calls for residential space is wrong.

He's got to realize that this is one of the last few, large commercial sites left in the city. Eventually every last square inch will be needed when the city's economy expands (unless they don't think Lower Manhatttan will ever grow again).

People are so damn shortsighted. The lack of demand for office space may be the problem now, but it won't stay that way forever. You can always convert offices into residentials.

As for the problem with no tenants at 7WTC, has it ever crossed Silverstein's mind that the building itself may be part of the problem? And now they want to apply the same crazy design to the Freedom Tower? If he thinks renting out 7 is difficult, I'd hate to see what it'll be like for him at the FT.

Lose the bunker base design. People don't need to be reminded of the fact that the building is a target. It makes people nervous and scares them away, including prospective tenants. If buildings 2, 3 and 4 are beautifully done, you can bet they'll have no trouble signing up tenants. Remember, you read it here first.

[BPC]

Hear, hear. One thing to keep in mind. NYC, and Manhattan in particular, is not a manufacturing powerhouse anymore. What we do in this borough is provide offices for businesses. That is how we create jobs. To abandon construction of office space is to abandon the economic future of this town.

[Jake]

Are you saying that crackhead artists who would rent entire floors in WTC apartments using money from the National Endowment for the Arts can't support us in the future?

That is one long sentence

NO APARTMENTS

NO ART

NO BS

SKY CITY NYC AND THAT'S IT
20,000 FEET
2500 FLOORS
EARTH WIND WATER AND FIRE TURBINES FOR ELECTRICITY
WATER TAXI, LAND TAXI, SUBWAY,PATH, LIRR, NJ TRANSIT, NY HARBOR, JFK, LGA, NWK transportation hub
VIEWS OF CHICAGO
DETONATION CHAMBER FOR YOUR SUICIDE BOMBER NEEDS
PEDESTRIAN BRIDGES TO JERSEY CITY, 42nd STR, STATEN ISLAND, and BROOKLYN
CAN WITHSTAND AN IMPACT OF THE QUEEN MARY II LAUNCHED FROM ORBIT BY A SPACE SHUTTLE
FULLY LIT STAIRWELLS
STARBUCKS

[PHLguy]

I'll agree that its a question of confidence



And competence...

[lofter1]

Fat cats milked Ground Zero

Even firms that were barely hurt got paid

New York Daily News
Dec. 3, 2005
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/371361p-315964c.html


This series was reported and written by the Daily News Investigative Team:
RUSS BUETTNER, HEIDI EVANS, ROBERT GEARTY, BRIAN KATES, GREG B. SMITH
and Assistant Managing Editor RICHARD T. PIENCIAK


One hi-tech company soared (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/371361p-315964c.html#q1)

Land giant scored 300G (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/371361p-315964c.html#q2)


http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/928-zero.jpg
Winter Garden lies devastated
with cleanup at Ground Zero
in its infancy.
Federal aid included millions
for small businesses.


Hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid intended to help small downtown businesses that were reeling from the 9/11 attacks often went instead to huge international corporations, companies with little attachment to the stricken area and businesses that were never in jeopardy.

The beneficiaries included a stock brokerage firm that had closed more than a month before the terrorists hit, a giant real estate firm that repeatedly said it wasn't hurt by the attacks, scores of wealthy self-employed floor traders and a Gramercy Park messenger service with a tiny satellite office downtown, a Daily News investigation of 9/11 disaster recovery aid shows.

The fast and furious distribution of nearly $1 billion in small business aid — part of the $21.4 billion promised to New York overall — was done by the Empire State Development Corp., a quasi-governmental agency with no experience in disaster relief.

Within four months of the attacks, the agency had created five grant programs - free money - and two loan programs to distribute the funds to businesses.

Empire State Development worked closely with the federal Small Business Administration — an agency with well-known flaws but unsurpassed experience in disasters. In the end, though, the development corporation ignored many of the checks and balances that the SBA has developed to make sure aid gets to the small businesses that need it most.

The development corporation didn't require businesses to explain how the attacks, and not preexisting business problems, had caused the firms to lose money. Nor did the agency consider whether massive multinational corporations could help their New York subsidiaries get through any difficulties.

And it defined economic injury as any reduction in revenue from the prior year, as opposed to SBA's definition: an inability to pay bills.

"Profit or loss alone is not enough to show us that they have economic injury," said SBA spokeswoman Colleen Hiam.

Instead, Empire State focused on making the application process easy, so it could speedily write checks to businesses supposedly at risk of closing. While that laudable goal was accomplished many times over, the lax rules also meant chunks of the money went to businesses that weren't small or were not at risk of closing or leaving the city.

Despite the lax rules, Empire State officials feared they still weren't going to be able to give away the total amount allocated to the Business Recovery Grant program.

So, in August 2002 they changed the formula to make more firms eligible for the $300,000 maximum.

One-fifth of all the applications for recovery grant aid were filed in the program's final two days, at the end of 2002, a massive influx that sent the total amount soaring above the $481 million allocation to $564 million.

While program rules required recipients to remain in business in the city for three years beyond the date of their application or return the money, Empire State concedes that it is not tracking the status of the businesses that took grants.

Nonetheless, development corporation officials said they believe the program should be used as a model for future disasters.

"We are very proud of the program," said agency spokeswoman Deborah Wetzel. "It is a huge program, and we have never had experience with a program like this. We put it together quickly and well. It's a great model."

Despite the development corporation's admission that it is not keeping track of grant recipients, Wetzel said audits have discovered $1.3 million in mistaken payments.

But that could be a drop in the bucket.

"We do not know the status of every business," Wetzel acknowledged. "The idea was to help businesses and to help them recover."

OUT OF BUSINESS

Some grants appear to have been awarded without anyone taking a serious look at the applicant.

Consider the case of GKN Securities, a stock brokerage firm.

On Sept. 10, 2001, GKN formally notified the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Association of Security Dealers that it had closed its doors more than a month earlier.

"GKN is conducting no further business other than seeking to satisfy its remaining liabilities, which are substantially in excess of its remaining assets," the company wrote in an official filing.

But the following year, GKN officials blamed the company's losses on the attacks.

Empire State awarded the defunct company a $150,000 Business Recovery Grant and an additional $50,201 to a sister corporation, EarlyBird Capital.
When The News called Firebrand Financial Group, which owned GKN and still owns EarlyBird, a secretary said GKN "has been out of business for years."
David Nussbaum, former GKN president, who now works at EarlyBird, did not return numerous calls from The News.

GKN was accused of wrongdoing long before the attacks. In 1997, the National Association of Securities Dealers ordered GKN and 29 employees to pay more than $2 million in fines and restitution to settle allegations it had overcharged investors.

In a written response, the state development corporation said agency investigators visited Firebrand offices in June 2004 and concluded that GKN's "operations were continuing."

Other grants raise questions about how the state required businesses to document how much of their revenue came from offices within the eligibility zone.

Dart Courier Service, a messenger company based on E. 16th St., received the maximum Block Recovery Grant of $300,000, plus $345,000 in a Small Firm Attraction and Retention Grant, another 9/11 program created by Empire State.

Asked to explain why his Gramercy Park company received grants that were limited to companies located south of 14th St., owner Greg Weiss said: "Cortlandt St. is one of our offices," before abruptly cutting the call short, citing static on the line. Weiss said he would call back. He never did.

The formula to award Dart the maximum under the Block Recovery Grant program would have required the messenger service to report $3 million in annual revenue out of the Cortlandt St. office. Similarly, the Small Firm Attraction and Retention Grant formula would have required Dart to have the equivalent of 138 full-time employees working out of the second-floor walkup.

During a visit by a reporter to the Cortlandt St. office on a recent weekday, a sign on Dart's door warned that it was not the entrance to Olga's Salon and Spa, which is across the hall. The entire floor, including the spa, is 1,900 square feet, property records show.

Inside Dart, the office appeared unkempt and cluttered with empty plastic chairs. Over a 45-minute period, two employees left, leaving one other, who was later joined by three messengers.

In addition to the grants, Dart received a low-interest SBA disaster loan of $435,500, bringing its total disaster aid to more than $1 million.

Still other grants were awarded to business endeavors of dubious need or merit.

Weatherly Securities, which received $300,000 through the Block Recovery Grant program and an SBA loan for $750,000, is a subsidiary of a British investment house.

It shut down in September 2002 under a crush of shareholder lawsuits alleging that it had churned investors' accounts to profit at their expense.
Even before the attacks, Weatherly reported that market conditions had lowered its profits compared with 2000.

Under the block grant method of computing economic injury, the drop in revenue before the attacks would have qualified Weatherly for aid.

The company defaulted on its SBA loan, and that agency has been listed as a creditor in its bankruptcy proceeding. But Empire State, which should be getting its money back, isn't listed as a creditor.

One hi-tech company soared

State grant programs to heal businesses injured by the 9/11 attacks were so loose with taxpayer money that they actually allowed some firms to expand.

That wouldn't be allowed by the Small Business Administration, the federal government's primary business aid agency in disasters. SBA lets firms use recovery aid only to get out of a jam.

Liang Chen's 4U Services, a technology consulting firm that also does business as Stellar Services, went far beyond that.

Chen and his 24 employees escaped unharmed from their offices on the 18th floor of 2 World Trade Center. Within a week, he had signed a three-year lease in a building on Fifth Ave. at 21st St.

But Chen said his clients — mostly the city and state governments — were slow to pay their bills in the three months after the attacks, temporarily making it hard to meet his $100,000 monthly payroll.

Chen obtained an SBA loan for $238,000 in November 2001, using his Forest Hills, Queens, home as collateral. The next month, he received a $200,000 grant from the Partnership for New York City's Financial Recovery Fund.

In early 2002, he received a $10,000 Business Retention Grant, a federally financed 9/11 program run by the city. Based on Chen's own projections, that influx of grants and loans should have gotten him over the hump. Plus, his company's existing contract with the Sanitation Department was increased by $500,000 through a contract charged to a 9/11 recovery account, records show.

But Chen went back to the well. In March 2002, he applied for, and received, a $76,796 Business Recovery Grant from the Empire State Development Corp.
When ESDC later boosted the formula, he received an additional $114,000 grant. The applications didn't require him to reveal the New York partnership grant nor the increase in his city contract.

In all, Chen received $640,000 in 9/11 grants and loans, which amounted to 34% of his total $1.9 million revenue for 2000, records show. He also received an insurance payment of $80,000 and repaid the SBA loan with some of the grant money.

He argued that his business had already doubled by the time the terrorists struck in 2001, and he needed the grants to continue growing.

"Well, knowing me, I never borrow money," he told The News. "I would have had to lay off some people. If we had to do that we would probably still survive, but today we would not [have] doubled. We would be doing just okay."

Asked if business owners saw the Business Recovery Grant program as a big candy store, he replied, "Everybody applied, for sure. It would be stupid to not apply."

Land giant scored 300G

Even Brookfield Financial Properties, L.P., the second largest landowner in lower Manhattan, received a $300,000 Business Recovery Grant, the maximum available under the small business program.

The company also is the New York-based subsidiary of Brookfield Properties Corp., a mammoth real estate firm that in 2001 had a total of 2,500 employees and $8 billion in assets, corporate documents show.

So how could something so big be considered small?

The grant was possible because Empire State did not follow usual SBA procedures regarding the wealth of related entities.

Before the SBA will give a disaster loan to a business, it explores whether a parent or related company, or even individual owners and partners, could obtain a regular loan without a taxpayer handout.

Empire State had no such requirement. Instead, it declared any single entity with 500 or fewer employees eligible, as long as it files separate tax returns from affiliates.

That opened the door for Brookfield Financial Properties and entities in similar financial situations to delve deep into the 9/11 money mountain.

Just as important, it is difficult to reconcile the claim of harm that was required to qualify for the grant with what Brookfield repeatedly told its shareholders.

"With comprehensive insurance coverage in place on Sept. 11, and long lease terms, Brookfield is insulated from the majority of the financial impact arising from this event," the parent company wrote in a March 2002 SEC filing.

Brookfield never lost a tenant. Its only significantly damaged building, the Winter Garden, was reopened a year later at a cost of $50 million.

In April, Brookfield reported it had collected $230 million in insurance.

"Brookfield anticipates recovery of all material amounts relating to the restoration and business interruption costs of its properties," the company's SEC filings repeatedly said.

A Brookfield spokeswoman said the company sustained $300 million in losses.
"This represents only one-tenth of 1% of our claims, so we're confident that we've got $300,000 in unrecovered losses," said Melissa Coley, Brookfield's vice president for communications.

Brookfield also has received at least $3.4 million in contracts from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., a subsidiary of Empire State. That figure includes LMDC rent of $47,000 a month for its headquarters across from Ground Zero. In June 2004, after then-LMDC President Kevin Rampe issued Brookfield an "emergency" $15,000 contract to pay for just one day of Winter Garden exhibition space, LMDC board member Robert Harding complained publicly that the company seemed to have lost its "sense of volunteerism" at a time when other companies were donating space.


© 2005 Daily News, L.P.

[lofter1]

ZERO CULTURE

Monday, Dec. 12, 2005; 7:30pm


The Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, The New School
55 West 13th Street (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=55+West+13th+Street,+New+York,+NY&iwloc=A&hl=en), 2nd floor
Purchase tickets (http://www.lmcc.net/programs/2005.12.12zeroculture/index.html#tickets)

Panel Discussion

Moderator: Paul Goldberger (http://www.lmcc.net/programs/2005.12.12zeroculture/index.html#goldberger)

Panelists: Tom Bernstein (http://www.lmcc.net/programs/2005.12.12zeroculture/index.html#bernstein), Thelma Golden (http://www.lmcc.net/programs/2005.12.12zeroculture/index.html#golden), Hans Haacke, Mike Wallace (http://www.lmcc.net/programs/2005.12.12zeroculture/index.html#wallace), and Robert Yaro (http://www.lmcc.net/programs/2005.12.12zeroculture/index.html#yaro)

The acceptance of a master plan for the World Trade Center site in 2003 has not made it immune to intervention, discussion and debate.

The ongoing wrangles, which have variously devolved around issues of design and security, have most recently polarized around an opposition between culture and memorialization. Culture, ordinarily the bedrock of any act of remembrance, is estranged, even desecrates ground described as hallowed and sacred.

The recent expulsions and withdrawals of cultural institutions slated to occupy the site urgently foregrounds the questions that engage this panel: What is at stake in this latest edition of the “culture wars”? What are the implications for daily life, livelihoods and the liveliness of New York City? Is “culture” integral or an appendage to the revitalization and redevelopment of Downtown Manhattan?

http://www.lmcc.net/programs/2005.12.12zeroculture/indexbanner.jpg

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased by phone with a credit card 212.229.5488 or in person at The New School Box Office, 66 West 12th St, main floor, Mon.-Thurs., 1:00-8:00 p.m., and Fri. 1:00-7:00 p.m.
Inquiries can be sent to boxoffice@newschool.edu (boxoffice@newschool.edu).
Most events are free to all students and New School alumni with ID.

Press Release (http://www.lmcc.net/programs/2005.12.12zeroculture/pressrelease.pdf)

[kliq6]

They have built enough residential space in Lower manhattan, Bloomberg should take a walk around and see, WTC should be ALL Retail and Office space

[PHLguy]

It probably will be rebuilt all office, I don't think Bloomberg has much of a say, does he?

[Jake]

Somebody here already said it: you can convert offices into apartments

What exactly does Bloomberg want? Does he want "affordable housing" there? I mean even IF there were apartments they would be probably near the most expensive in the city, so who would Bloomberg be doing this for? Secondly, there were people living in the WTC, in fact I think most skyscrapers have at least some permanent tenants. So if anyone will want to live there really bad I'm sure he'll be able to. The merits of building an "office" building is that the floors are clear, you can always add divisions however you see fit, but if you build a residential building you usually can't convert the other way because of floor layouts.

But if he wants projects there then I may be seriously displeased with this mayor for the first time.

[TomAuch]

The 12/12 panel is full of members who have been known to be in the Anti-Rebuilder camp, especially Goldberger and Yaro (who over the last four years have periodically tried to stop tall towers from being built at the WTC Site.)
....Anyway, just looking to building condos or apartments on the site is too short-term. We are still in a housing bubble, and if that pops in 2006-2007, then those condos and apartments will be just as much the "white elephants" that new office space is right now. Also, how do we know what Lower Manhattan's economy will be in 2010 or 2015? We could be in a bull market then (I hope.)

[antinimby]

Bloomberg is a fine mayor. When it's all said and done, he'll be one of the best mayors this city ever had (at least IMO). One thing he's wrong on, however, is his idea for residential space at this site.

He wants to see Downtown become more of a 24/7 district much like Midtown and that is a good idea. However, he should realize that the city does not need to intervene to make this happen since condo conversions are already well underway, driven by market forces.

In fact, with so much office space taken off the market through conversions, you'll have very little room left for commercial expansion should the need arises. This is where Downtown is dissimilar to Midtown.

Developable space in Downtown is extremely limited. You can follow Midtown's example but only so far. He wants more residents? Fine. Raise the FAR's, but the Community Boards are not likely to allow that.

What's gonna happen when you've got all these residents there and now when businesses want to expand in Downtown? Where are they going to go? Where can they build? Change your policy at that time and kick out the residents? Yeah, that's really gonna happen. Just ask Ratner how easy that can be.

So by making the site residential--even partially--is essentially saying that Downtown's days as a leading commercial district is over. Jersey City will be more than happy to gobble up any companies Downtown loses. Imagine a truly reversed commute.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Politics

[vc10]

But downtown's days as a leading business district _are_ over. Rents prove it. There's a huge gap between midtown and downtown rents.

If you want to fix that, fix the underlying causes, don't build empty office towers that will require rent subsidies to fill. The underlying cause is that Midtown is easier to get to from Jersey, Long Island and upstate/CT. So long as that is true, it's always going to have a lead over downtown. If you're Joe I-banker, and you live in in the burbs, you're _always_ going to prefer midtown to downtown until that discrepancy is redressed.


Bloomberg is a fine mayor. When it's all said and done, he'll be one of the best mayors this city ever had (at least IMO). One thing he's wrong on, however, is his idea for residential space at this site.

He wants to see Downtown become more of a 24/7 district much like Midtown and that is a good idea. However, he should realize that the city does not need to intervene to make this happen since condo conversions are already well underway, driven by market forces.

In fact, with so much office space taken off the market through conversions, you'll have very little room left for commercial expansion should the need arises. This is where Downtown is dissimilar to Midtown.

Developable space in Downtown is extremely limited. You can follow Midtown's example but only so far. He wants more residents? Fine. Raise the FAR's, but the Community Boards are not likely to allow that.

What's gonna happen when you've got all these residents there and now when businesses want to expand in Downtown? Where are they going to go? Where can they build? Change your policy at that time and kick out the residents? Yeah, that's really gonna happen. Just ask Ratner how easy that can be.

So by making the site residential--even partially--is essentially saying that Downtown's days as a leading commercial district is over. Jersey City will be more than happy to gobble up any companies Downtown loses. Imagine a truly reversed commute.

[BPC]

For those of you would like Lower Manhattan to remain the Financial Capital of the World, and are concerned about persons like Dan Doctoroff who have proposed diverting the remaining Liberty Bonds to projects in Midtown and elsewhere, now is your chance to speak out and be heard. The State will be considering Silverstein Properties' Liberty Bond application. Whether you like Silverstein or not, this is our one opportunity to get the WTC rebuilt in the foreseeable future. Liberty Bonds should be used, first and foremost, to replace that which the terrorists destroyed.


IDA Hearing on Silverstein Liberty Bond Application

Location: Economic Development Corp., 110 William Street, 4th floor

Time: 10am, Thursday, December 8th

Logistics: It’s a small room with auditorium seating and a table in front that will seat EDC reps.

Speakers: There will be a sign-in sheet for speakers. The hearing will begin with a statement from the EDC outlining the purpose of the hearing. Speakers will be called in the order they sign in. Speakers should give the moderator a copy of statement. It is also possible to drop off a statement and not speak if necessary.

[antinimby]

But downtown's days as a leading business district _are_ over. Rents prove it. There's a huge gap between midtown and downtown rents.
I hardly consider that as the end-all sign that Downtown's best days are over. Fortunes change all the time including business districts. What may be a depressed area now can change dramatically over time, sometimes very quickly.

Consider Jersey City for example. Where was it 20 years ago? How is it today? There are numerous other examples of success stories and reversal of fortunes both locally, nationally and internationally. Don't give up on DT so quickly.

Also, don't compare Downtown to Midtown. It's not a competition here. Both are part of the same city. So what if Midtown's rent is higher, that's all the better for the city as whole.


If you want to fix that, fix the underlying causes, don't build empty office towers that will require rent subsidies to fill. The underlying cause is that Midtown is easier to get to from Jersey, Long Island and upstate/CT.No one said DT doesn't need better transportation links. Everyone agrees that it needs immense improvement. However, my discussion is not about transportation but about residential development at the site.

Even if all the transportation links are in place, what good is it if there are not enough space for businesses. Make it convenient for DT residents to go to work in NJ? Westchester? LI?

No one wants to build empty office towers, but the site needs to be developed. Or would you rather leave it as an empty pit?

[kliq6]

I will be going to the IDa meeting, ill let you all know what is said. Id urge people that believe in the rebuilding to attend this event. They are great learning expereince and you can see what developers have to go thru, in terms of dealing with organizations like GJNY, to get things built

[lofter1]

Larry Silverstein was interviewed on NY1 last night (12/5) and discussed the residential v. commercial oprtions for sites 2 / 3 / 4.

LS's main point for building commercial on those sites is that they have the largest footprints available downtown, and therefore are the only remaining sites where commercial structures in the size desired / needed by businesses can be built.

LS seemed somewhat perplexed by Bloomberg's change of position regarding these sites (before the election Bloomberg was praising LS; afterwards Bloomberg started the PR blitz regarding residential).

Both sides seem to be playing the maneuvering game ...

[BrooklynRider]

FYI. Got this in my inbox today...

Friends and neighbors,

The WTC Committee of Community Board 1 is holding a meeting on Wednesday, December 7 at 6:00 PM. At this meeting they will discuss issues very important to the community. A number of the issues will be appropriate for community response. Please review the agenda and see which items are important to you, and attend if you can. If you can’t make the meeting, we will be sending out updates with opportunities to send your thoughts to the appropriate officials. For your benefit, we have added a brief paragraph of explanation of the issues behind the agenda items.

Best,

Dave Stanke

Helene Seemen

1) Memorial Foundation update – Presentation by Gretechen Dykstra

The Memorial Foundation is responsible for raising money and running all WTC memorial and cultural activities. They are under funded at the moment and Ms. Dykstra has basically said that the Cultural facilities are of secondary importance. Elements on the board of the foundation have challenged all culture at the site and want to be involved in restricting retail. A number of prominent city proponents have left the Foundation due to concerns about the direction it is taking. The Community Board will have a lot of tough questions for her. We will be reporting on this issue in the future.

2) Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center

If you haven’t noticed, everything around the WTC has become a construction site. If you want to know what’s happening or if you have any specific questions or issues, these are the people to ask.

3) Memorial Design – Presentation by Anne Papageorge of LMDC

The current Memorial design was intended to make the memorial blend in with the city. There is a movement by family members to restrict access to the memorial park and to expand beyond the current boundaries. There are also movements to display more WTC ruins in the park. The professionals working on the Memorial and Memorial Center are dedicated to doing their best, but they need to understand the desires of the local population.

4) 130 Liberty Street, emergency evacuation plan and deconstruction – Update by Anne Papageorge of LMDC

Deutsche Bank is finally coming down. This discussion will cover how the area will be notified or evacuated if there is an emergency.

5) Cultural enhancement funds for not-for-profit organizations – Update by Michael Haberman of LMDC

The LMDC is funding cultural initiatives downtown. If you are interested directly or care about the type of cultural facilities that are funded, Mr. Haberman will give you information.

6) $3.3 Billion Liberty Bond financing application by Silverstein Properties to construct office buildings at 130 Liberty Street and the WTC site

Silverstein Properties has requested remaining Liberty Bonds to be used in redevelopment of the WTC. In the past, Liberty Bonds have been spread around throughout the city with limited focus on Downtown. The site itself needs financing to get construction underway on all fronts. Silverstein Properties suffered the single greatest loss of property downtown after 9/11. The best way to move building forward is to dedicate the money to them. They have already built the first new building just off the site. They deserve this support far more than other developers or organizations who have already received funds.

7) CB #1 representation on the LMDC Board - Discussion

A lot of new members have been appointed to the LMDC Board. Since Ms. Wils left CB1, there is no official CB1 representative assigned to the Board. In light of an ongoing tendency of the LMDC to treat local residents as second class citizens on WTC site related issues, getting futher community representation is important, even if it is too late. We should have representatives in addition to Ms. Wils.

Please pass along your thoughts on these issues. We’ll be sending out further notifications on specific issues of concern,

Thanks,

Dave

WTC Redevelopment Committee

Meeting Notice

DATE: Wednesday, December 7, 2005
TIME: 6:00 PM
PLACE: Assemblymember Sheldon Silver’s Office
250 Broadway, Assembly Hearing Room, 19th Floor

(Please bring photo ID)

R E V I S E D A G E N D A
1) Memorial Foundation update – Presentation by Gretechen Dykstra
2) Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center – Update by Robin Forst
3) Memorial Design – Presentation by Anne Papageorge of LMDC
4) 130 Liberty Street, emergency evacuation plan and deconstruction – Update by Anne Papageorge of LMDC
5) Cultural enhancement funds for not-for-profit organizations – Update by Michael Haberman of LMDC
6) $3.3 Billion Liberty Bond financing application by Silverstein Properties to construct office buildings at 130 Liberty Street and the WTC site – Discussion and resolution
7) CB #1 representation on the LMDC Board - Discussion

PLEASE NOTE:

No food or beverages are allowed into the facility.


Community Board #1-M
49-51 Chambers Street, Room 715 ~ NY NY 10007 ~ 212-442-5050 ~ FAX 212-442-5055
Julie Menin, Chairperson ~ Paul Goldstein, District Manager ~
Judy Duffy, Assistant District Manager ~ Lucy Acevedo, Community Coordinator
~ Mary Kate Cudahy, Community Assistant, Anne Dworakivsky, Communications and Outreach Coordinator

[vc10]

Turn if over to private developers and let them do with it what they will. If the market says "residential" then let residential be built. If the market says "commercial" then build that instead.

Building empty office buildings is insane.



No one wants to build empty office towers, but the site needs to be developed. Or would you rather leave it as an empty pit?

[kliq6]

the twins were empty for a long time as was ESB, if you build they will come, Larry is correct, those footprints are know where else except the far west side, thus the reason behind the Bloomberg plan to kill commercial development in LM, they only care about Hudson yards

[BPC]

Turn if over to private developers and let them do with it what they will. If the market says "residential" then let residential be built. If the market says "commercial" then build that instead.

Building empty office buildings is insane.

Silverstein Properties is a private developer; he is in that position because he purchased, for several billion dlollars, the development rights to the property. He is the "market" here, and he wants to build office towers, as does the landowner, the PA. It is only persons without any economic interest in the site (eg, Mayor Mike) who are demanding that residential be built instead. The "market" wisely ignores the viewpoints of persons who propose how to spend other persons' money.

[TonyO]

Turn if over to private developers and let them do with it what they will. If the market says "residential" then let residential be built. If the market says "commercial" then build that instead.

Building empty office buildings is insane.

The market is Larry Silverstein - a private developer who is the leaseholder. He says that state-of-the-art Class A office space is a good investment and will fill up (which it will).

[kliq6]

Larry is paying $100 million plus per year, if he wants commercial then that is what it will be, i hope he gets the vote next wek on this issue

[Citytect]

I'm not supporting residential development at WTC, but the "what Larry wants, Larry gets" idea isn't really true. He doesn't have the money right now to build all these office towers. That's why some people want Silverstein to build residential: they just want to see the site finished ASAP, and they are probably correct to think that a mix of apartment/condo and office towers can be completely in a timelier fashion than just offices. It is indicative of the pessimistic "better than a whole in the ground" mentality that people have now, after years of mismanagement of the WTC rebuilding.

[JMGarcia]

Larry has to take this position or he will lose part of his insurance money. He is promoting this completely out of self-interest and should not be taken as some wise pronouncement on market conditions.

[BPC]

Since when is insurance money something different from the "market"? Anyone who runs a business will take into account a variety of factors, including insurance, in deciding how to investment his money.

[ZippyTheChimp]

In this case, Silverstein does not have the freedom of whether to build, what to build, or walk away...unless he is bought out.

He was under insured when he signed the lease, and the proceeds he is getting only go toward replacing the items he leased...10 million sq ft of office space.

[kliq6]

Again Zippy hits it, enough said on this issue, unless he is gone, five office buildings will be built

[vc10]

If it's really up to Silverstein, and that's what he does, then good luck to him, though I suspect that if he really does build five office buildings he'll ultimately go bankrupt.

But that's the market at work too. At that point it will either be worth it to someone to rent them out at lower rents (because the basis in the properties will be lower) or convert them to residential.

I don't think downtown can absorb sq footage remotely close to what the old WTC had without significant improvement in access.


Again Zippy hits it, enough said on this issue, unless he is gone, five office buildings will be built

[ZippyTheChimp]

First of all...even if Silverstein is the one to do the building, it will be the market that determines the time frame. You will not have a situation where Silverstein puts up several towers, and then waits for tenants. I think his insurance payment will cover one tower after the FT, and he will need to use revenue from at least 7WTC to secure construction financing. Silverstein also has the financial drain of $120 million per year in lease payments, for which he is getting zero revenue.

So don't look for these buildings to be popping up any time soon. You will not get a clear picture of demand at the site until the PATH is complete. In the meantime, the problem is: What to do with the site.

Residential development is a non-issue. Go to the CB1 homepage. No one wants it. Bloomberg is just stirring the pot without attacking Pataki directly. Pataki has his own problems with the state GOP disintegrating around him, and is probably the most vulnerable person connected with the site - deservedly.

There is plenty of residential development in the area.

I think the big issue right now is whether to put retail bases in, or wait until there is demand for office space - not an easy answer to that.

[lofter1]

Silverstein mentioned on NY1 last night that WTC7 went up right away because the insurance policy mandated that rebuilding occur ASAP.

Not sure if there are similar insurance requirements for the buildings on the actual WTC site

[PHLguy]

Is this residential plan realistic at all? Do you think it could actually get pulled through? It seems like Bloomberg wants the entire site residential. So that might mean Freedom Tower would be scrapped after all.

[antinimby]

Builder Under Growing Pressure to Cede Part of Trade Center Site

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/07/nyregion/07rebuild.html

By CHARLES V. BAGLI
Published: December 7, 2005

State, city and Port Authority officials are increasing pressure on Larry A. Silverstein, the developer who controls the World Trade Center site, to relinquish at least a portion of the 16-acre property so that the rebuilding effort can proceed more quickly.

In recent weeks, Anthony R. Coscia, the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has proposed to Mr. Silverstein that he proceed with the Freedom Tower - by far the most visible symbol of the redevelopment - and a second building, while ceding much of the site back to the authority, which owns the 16-acre property. The Port Authority, in turn, would reduce Mr. Silverstein's rent, which rises to almost $12 million a month in January.

State officials also broached the idea with Mr. Silverstein.

Mr. Coscia confirmed that he had spoken to Mr. Silverstein on the matter, but declined to discuss it. John N. Lieber, senior vice president at Silverstein Properties, declined to comment on talks with Mr. Coscia.

The proposal comes as Mr. Silverstein is in heated negotiations with the city over his request for the remaining $3.35 billion in tax-exempt Liberty Bonds, which he needs to finance the office towers, and the conditions the city wants to impose on their use. A public hearing on the matter is set for tomorrow, and the city's Industrial Development Agency is scheduled to vote Dec. 13, if the two sides reach an agreement.

In what some see as one of several efforts to pressure Mr. Silverstein, the city has sought to impose a strict construction schedule to ensure that the bonds are used before they expire at the end of 2009.

City officials have also questioned why Mr. Silverstein wants to use two-thirds of the bonds for the Freedom Tower, which accounts for only a quarter of the proposed commercial space on the site. They have also questioned Mr. Silverstein's proposal that he get a 5 percent development fee, which could add $100 million to the cost of the Freedom Tower.

Mr. Silverstein has complained to business leaders that the city's conditions are so onerous that they may prevent him from obtaining construction financing. He has lined up United States Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton to support his application for the bonds and asked business leaders to speak on his behalf at the hearing.

The unfolding drama comes at a time when there is a growing public perception that progress downtown has been slow, although the administration of Gov. George E. Pataki has repeatedly tried to counter that impression with press conferences highlighting construction of the new PATH terminal and the groundbreaking for the Goldman Sachs headquarters.

"Four years after the fact, we're still discussing who is building what on the site," said Madelyn G. Wils, who lives downtown and is a member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. "It's time to get to the end game."

The effort to split the site has been in the air for some months. Under the current proposal, the right to build two other towers at the southeastern corner of the site, near the new PATH terminal, would revert to the Port Authority, which owns the property. Officials are eager to begin work on a multistory shopping complex on Church Street, which they say would enliven the area, serving local residents, tourists and office workers, as well as the smaller buildings.

State, city and Port Authority officials say that the authority itself, and possibly a federal agency, could anchor one of the office buildings, while the other could include a hotel, commercial space, and, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has suggested, apartments.

Officials have concluded that they cannot dislodge Mr. Silverstein legally, because his lease for the site grants him the right to rebuild the complex. And any effort to oust the developer would almost certainly spark a legal battle that would only enhance a sense of chaos downtown.

For his part, Mr. Silverstein has steadfastly maintained that he is best suited to rebuild the entire complex because, unlike any other potential developer, he has billions of dollars in insurance proceeds. But under the current schedule, the last of five commercial buildings would not be completed for at least a decade.

The developer's supporters note that Mr. Silverstein has nearly completed rebuilding the 1.7 million-square-foot tower at 7 World Trade Center, while government officials debated what to do on the trade center site itself.

"If you really want to get this project done, sweep away all the obstacles," said Mr. Lieber, the Silverstein Properties official. "Once that happens, Larry will build the rest of the buildings as quickly as he has built 7 World Trade Center."

The debate over the conditions placed on the Liberty Bonds is only one way in which City Hall and the Port Authority have sought leverage with Mr. Silverstein. Mayor Bloomberg has also mused publicly that the rebuilding effort might be better off without Mr. Silverstein. And the plans for the shopping mall on Church and Cortlandt Streets clash with Mr. Silverstein's plans: city and Port Authority officials say Mr. Silverstein opposes building the multistory shopping mall because it would force him to build the office lobbies on the third or fourth floors of the office towers overhead.

But even among the various government agencies there is disagreement about the shopping mall.

The Port Authority wants to build a multilevel, glass-walled retail galleria on Cortlandt Street, between Church and Greenwich Streets, while Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff disagrees, saying the street should be an open thoroughfare, providing views to and from the 9/11 memorial.

Mr. Doctoroff also wants to provide potential developers with as much as $400 million in Liberty Bonds to build the shopping mall, although state officials contend that retail development is so lucrative that government does not need to provide subsidies.

"Anything that can be done to expedite the retail, particularly along Church Street, is particularly important to the community," said Julie Menin, chairperson of Community Board 1, the neighborhood advisory group.

[kliq6]

CB!is against all residential development since the schools in that area are over crowded as is. Bloomberg is just trying to make a name for himself since so far he really has no legacy, all he has done was take over the city after Rudy cleaned it up and maintained it, nothing is truly his own accomplishment.

[TonyO]

NY Sun
12/7/05

Sole Public Hearing On Ground Zero Financing Tomorrow

By DAVID LOMBINO, Staff Reporter of the Sun

The public will have its only crack at opposing developer Larry Silverstein's application for $3.35 billion in tax-exempt financing to construct 10 million square feet of office space at ground zero at a hearing scheduled for tomorrow.

The board of the Industrial Development Agency is scheduled to vote next Tuesday on the remaining Liberty Bonds, which will save the developer millions every year.

Mr. Silverstein, who controls the site through a 99-year lease with the Port Authority, has indicated that the tax-exempt financing is necessary to complete his proposed $8 billion project, which includes the Freedom Tower and at least three commercial office towers.

Mr. Silverstein said yesterday that he is now discussing construction timetables and performance guarantees with city officials.

"I can give the city and state an absolute guarantee that all of the Liberty Bonds will be used and that I will build these buildings on the most aggressive schedule," Mr. Silverstein told The New York Sun.

Mayor Bloomberg has tirelessly advocated for more residential development at the World Trade Center site and expressed frustration with the slow progress of development.

Earlier this fall, city officials suggested that some of the remaining Liberty Bonds be allocated to other projects, but currently there are no serious contenders for the remaining tax-exempt financing, which is only applicable to commercial developments.

The president of the Real Estate Board of New York, Steven Spinola, who supports the application, said yesterday that if the bond allocation is approved next week, the details of the development plan could be changed at a later date by the board.

"Right now, in December 2005, this is the authorization that is needed. If market conditions or other things change over time, practical people are going to do what is best for everybody in the end. This is the kind of step that is necessary at this point in time," he said yesterday.

Not everyone is convinced, however, that the bond allocation is the best use of public subsidies.

The director of a development accountability think tank, Good Jobs New York, Bettina Damiani, will testify against Mr. Silverstein's application tomorrow. She said that proposed, city subsidized commercial development on the far West Side and at the Atlantic Yards site in Brooklyn could flood the city with vacant office space.

"Do we need to subsidize so much office space that right now the downtown market seems not to need?" Ms. Damiani said yesterday. "This is a significant subsidy with large ramifications. We need to make sure our resources are used wisely."

Yesterday, Mr. Silverstein was optimistic about the demand for downtown commercial space.

"All of the recent reports demonstrate increased demand and absorption. For companies that want large blocks of modern, efficient, and centrally located office space but can't afford Midtown asking rents, there really will be no alternative but downtown in the coming years," he said.

Some have suggested that a staggered allocation of Liberty Bonds or tying them to a construction timetable would add leverage to the city's negotiations with the private developer.

The chief of staff for Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat of Manhattan, Amy Rutkin, said yesterday, "It would be a good thing if there were a means to ensure that promises are kept, provided that it does not slow the process."

The IDA board, which is made up of representatives appointed by the mayor, the five borough presidents, the comptroller, and the law department, has the authority to accept, reject, or modify the application. After approval, changes in the application must be cleared with the board.

Ms. Damiani, of Good Jobs New York, also expressed concern that the application could change at a later date without the opportunity for the public input.

[JMGarcia]

State, city and Port Authority officials say that the authority itself, and possibly a federal agency, could anchor one of the office buildings, while the other could include a hotel, commercial space, and, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has suggested, apartments.

So, Bloomberg wants 1 out of the 5 towers to me mixed use hotel/commercial/residential like TWC or Bloomberg Tower. Big deal. This is a total non-issue IMO. 1 out of 5 towers is not going to make or break donwtown's commerical viability. On the other hand, it allows for the 2 towers along Church St. to be developed years sooner, for the commerical tower to have a gauranteed anchor tenant in the PA and for the other tower to be virtually gauranteed to be filled upon completion with residents and a hotel. It might not be such a bad idea.

[Citytect]

1 out of 5 towers is not going to make or break donwtown's commerical viability... It might not be such a bad idea.

I agree. But which tower? The Deutsche Bank site seems like a good place for a mixed use tower, but it won't be ready for a couple years.

[kliq6]

They should build a park were the DB tower is and kill that one completely, just add about 400,000 sf each to the three buildings along Church street and the 10 million obligation is complete

[ZippyTheChimp]

I think the DB site is the most flexible for other uses. It's furthest from the hub, so the least attrctive for an office building. By the time 130 Liberty comes down, there may be a clearer picture of real estate demand.

4 Albany and 133 Greenwich are to be developed as residential, and I think 15 Albany is to be renovated as a hotel. I still say that the DB site would be a great place for a cultural building.

[NYguy]

So, Bloomberg wants 1 out of the 5 towers to me mixed use hotel/commercial/residential like TWC or Bloomberg Tower. Big deal. This is a total non-issue IMO. 1 out of 5 towers is not going to make or break donwtown's commerical viability. On the other hand, it allows for the 2 towers along Church St. to be developed years sooner, for the commerical tower to have a gauranteed anchor tenant in the PA and for the other tower to be virtually gauranteed to be filled upon completion with residents and a hotel. It might not be such a bad idea.


The Port Authority should be a guaranteed tenant in one of the buildings regardless of who builds it. Those other 2 towers are going to completed no sooner because the PA has work to do on the site before anyone can build anything. It will probably be another 2 years before that's complete. I know the Deutsche Bank site has been repeatedly mentioned as a site for a residential tower because its technically not a PA owned site. But that building's not even down yet, so realisticly, how soon are you going to build anything there?

It's just a lot of people blowing out a lot of hot air. None of it has any substance to it. If they wanted Silverstein out, they should have tried to work a deal long before now.

As it is, they are counting on Silverstein's insurance payouts to help the rebuilding. Silverstein says his insurance payout stipulates he must replace all of the space to get the full payout he's expecting.

[JMGarcia]

The Port Authority should be a guaranteed tenant in one of the buildings regardless of who builds it. Those other 2 towers are going to completed no sooner because the PA has work to do on the site before anyone can build anything. It will probably be another 2 years before that's complete. I know the Deutsche Bank site has been repeatedly mentioned as a site for a residential tower because its technically not a PA owned site. But that building's not even down yet, so realisticly, how soon are you going to build anything there?

It's just a lot of people blowing out a lot of hot air. None of it has any substance to it. If they wanted Silverstein out, they should have tried to work a deal long before now.

As it is, they are counting on Silverstein's insurance payouts to help the rebuilding. Silverstein says his insurance payout stipulates he must replace all of the space to get the full payout he's expecting.

I don't believe Silverstein plans on starting those towers in 2 years when the site prep is done. From what I've read it would be much later so I do think the towers would go up earlier if done by the PA.

I wonder if Silverstein's insurance stipulates the use of the space he must replace.

On the basic argument of putting up a building that is mixed used (whether by the PA or Silverstein) I have yet to hear a good reason not too.

[BPC]

On the basic argument of putting up a building that is mixed used (whether by the PA or Silverstein) I have yet to hear a good reason not too.

Because Downtown is where the world meets to conduct its business. You can put an apartment anywhere, including in older buildings no longer suitable for commercial use. But to take these large, undeveloped parcels and waste them on more condos would be admitting that Lower Manhattan's greateness is behind it. The Mayor may be willing to starve Downtown in his quixotic quest to transform the Far West Side into a new office district, but I'm not and (much more importantly) Silverstein is not. Good for him.

[vc10]

That's delusional. Midtown is where the world meets to conduct its business and has been for at least a decade, maybe more. Most of the financial firepower moved up to midtown long ago, almost all the corporations are up there and most of the NYC-domiciled hedge funds are there. The only thing that's uniquely downtown is the NYSE and that's about to go electronic.


Because Downtown is where the world meets to conduct its business. You can put an apartment anywhere, including in older buildings no longer suitable for commercial use. But to take these large, undeveloped parcels and waste them on more condos would be admitting that Lower Manhattan's greateness is behind it. The Mayor may be willing to starve Downtown in his quixotic quest to transform the Far West Side into a new office district, but I'm not and (much more importantly) Silverstein is not. Good for him.

[BPC]

I wasn't referring to the ad agencies and the publishing houses. All of the exchanges and the majority of the financial industry remain downtown. There is no place in the world with that much financial firepower centered in one place. To sacrifice it for condos would be criminal.

[vc10]

Sorry, you're wrong. The financial firepower is in midtown (actually, these days the hedge fund community is centered around Greenwich, but to the extent the hedgies are in NYC, they're in Midtown).

The only big guns who are still downtown are Goldman and Merrill and the I-banking portion of Citi (Deutsche too, but they're second tier). JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Lehman, CSFB (Midtown South), Bear Stearns, UBS, BofA, Citigroup's HQ, all the hedgies, etc. It's a Midtown business.

I've worked for three I-banks myself... I know. Most of the the big funds in NYC are in midtown.

Downtown ain't chopped liver, but it's no longer the center of the financial world.


I wasn't referring to the ad agencies and the publishing houses. All of the exchanges and the majority of the financial industry remain downtown. There is no place in the world with that much financial firepower centered in one place. To sacrifice it for condos would be criminal.

[ZippyTheChimp]

It doesn't matter if Downtown is number one or not.

What does matter is that Downtown is an important business district, and if that position is not to be maintained, then why are we building a $2 billion transportation hub - so people like me can get home? Thanks for the consideration, but that would be a waste of money.

Turn if over to private developers and let them do with it what they will. If the market says "residential" then let residential be built. If the market says "commercial" then build that instead.
Hubs attract business. If during the intervening years while the PATH station is built, the market determines that residential should be built, where do we put any business that might be drawn to the area when it has improved transportation links?

[JMGarcia]

One of the towers is bound to have hotel space in any case. So I simply do not think a half a tower being residential rather than commercial is in any way going to make or break downtown as a business center.

500,000 sq. ft. of office space is irrelevent in the bigger picture, especially considering that the new Goldman building more than adds that much space if you want to compare downtown to pre 9/11 stats.

[vc10]

The transportation hub is merely cleaning up some connections between subway lines that have been proven already not to be a substitute for the commuter rail that midtown enjoys. The actual lines themselves (which provide the transportation) aren't being improved, only the station(s).

Your argument would hold water if they were bringing commuter rail into downtown. Unfortunately, that's not on the agenda.

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride, but I wish the ownership of the WTC site wasn't so ****ed up. Silverstein doesn't actually own it, but he gets some money if he builds office buildings and he has the right to, the PA owns the land, but they don't get to determine what's developed, and even if they did, they're a politically (not market) directed outfit so they'd sit on their hands for years, possibly decades. Oh, and don't forget the families of the dead.

What's needed is for private parties to have clear title to the land. Then they'd do what is economically rational (whatever that is). Right now it's all ****ed up. Classic New York and perhaps the best argument ever for getting groups like the PA out of development in NYC.


It doesn't matter if Downtown is number one or not.

What does matter is that Downtown is an important business district, and if that position is not to be maintained, then why are we building a $2 billion transportation hub - so people like me can get home? Thanks for the consideration, but that would be a waste of money.
Hubs attract business. If during the intervening years while the PATH station is built, the market determines that residential should be built, where do we put any business that might be drawn to the area when it has improved transportation links?

[antinimby]

...why are we building a $2 billion transportation hub - so people like me can get home? Thanks for the consideration, but that would be a waste of money.Selfless. Very honorable. I nominate Zippy for the city's next mayor or at the very least, in charge of rebuilding the site.

[ZippyTheChimp]

What's needed is for private parties to have clear title to the land. Then they'd do what is economically rational (whatever that is). Right now it's all ****ed upIn the absence of planning, they would do what is economically expedient. That is often not the best choice for the long-term.

When a project slows to a crawl, there is a temptation to correct it by rushing. The one thing that must be completed first, the station, is the only component of the site that has been moving along on schedule. If PATH is ever extended to NWK and the rail link to JFK is built, the station would have direct access to two airports.

Completion of the station and the FT would reduce the size of the hole by allowing some of the streets to be cut in. Beyond that, no decisions need to be made now on whether individual buildings are commercial or residential. There are plenty of sites in the area for housing, but this is the only place left for commercial development.

They should put in the retail bases along Church St, and wait.


**If anyone wants me to be mayor, I'll need about $70 million. :)

[NYguy]

Because Downtown is where the world meets to conduct its business. You can put an apartment anywhere

I don't understand why that concept is so hard for people to understand. It's as if housing can only be built at the WTC site....

[NYguy]

I don't believe Silverstein plans on starting those towers in 2 years when the site prep is done.


You have no reason NOT to believe him. The man has already got a brand new office tower up - proof that he can and will build when allowed to. And he's got to keep paying the PA, he may as well get some tenants to help pay.

[NYguy]

500,000 sq. ft. of office space is irrelevent in the bigger picture, especially considering that the new Goldman building more than adds that much space if you want to compare downtown to pre 9/11 stats.

The Goldman space - and its site - are already spoken for. And that brings forth another point. If the Downtown business district has spread to the other side of the WTC and WFC, why would the city want to cut them off from the rest of the business district?

[NYguy]

NY POST

LARRY LASHES CRITICS

By TOM TOPOUSIS
December 8, 2005


Ground Zero developer Larry Silverstein yesterday flatly shot down a proposal that he relinquish two of his planned buildings to the Port Authority — a move he warned would force businesses to flee to New Jersey.

Silverstein insisted that only his plan for the site — corporate office buildings with "enormous" floors — can attract big business and jobs back to the World Trade Center.

"So they don't have to go to New Jersey, they can stay right here in lower Manhattan where we want to put back the 100,000 jobs that were lost on 9/11," Silverstein said in an interview with The Post. "They'll go to New Jersey if we can't provide for them."

The developer insisted that the unique size of the building sites make them crucial to attracting and keeping major corporate — not government — tenants that are unable or unwilling to rent space in Midtown because it is more than twice the price of what he's proposing downtown.

Silverstein is digging in as the Port Authority, which owns the World Trade Center site, has tried to muscle in as a developer for a portion of Ground Zero along Church Street, where towers 3 and 4 are proposed just south of the new transit hub.

City and state officials have been looking at the possibility that the authority could develop two of the planned office towers along Church Street to include its new headquarters and as a possible site for federal agencies, along with a hotel, apartments and a retail mall.

The saber-rattling comes as Silverstein's request for $3.35 billion in Liberty Bonds to finance projects at the World Trade Center goes before a public hearing by the city's Industrial Development Agency today. A vote could come next week.

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday he's still considering "a variety of projects where Liberty bonds could be used for."

"Some of them are Silverstein projects, some of them are other projects. But we're just not going to give away the bonds willy-nilly," Bloomberg said.

But Silverstein, who has plans to build five towers at the World Trade Center, insisted that there is no bargaining on his plans to go ahead with office projects large enough to include massive trading floors at the lower levels in buildings 3 and 4.


________________________________________________


DAILY NEWS

Silverstein squeezed over speedup


BY LISA L. COLANGELO and PAUL D. COLFORD


Ground Zero developer Larry Silverstein is being urged to speed up his rebuilding effort - or lose some public funding, sources said yesterday.

The behind-the-scenes push comes as Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Pataki suggested publicly that some of the $3.35 billion in tax-free Liberty Bonds Silverstein is counting on could go to other developers.

Silverstein, who leases the site from the Port Authority, is finishing one office tower, plans to start the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower in the spring and hopes to erect four more office buildings. But questions have arisen about whether he can line up the prospective tenants he needs to keep the projects moving.

"There are a variety of projects [the bonds] could be used for," the mayor said. "Some are Silverstein projects, some are other projects."

Pataki said a bigger role by the Port Authority and "private-sector investors" might be best.

Sources said the Port Authority wants to renegotiate its lease with Silverstein so the agency can move up development of two Church St. sites.

In one scenario sketched for the Daily News by city and state officials, the timetable being put to Silverstein could prove difficult to meet. If he falls short, the Liberty Bonds could be diverted, further hampering his plans.

A hearing on the bond application is set for this morning. Pataki and Bloomberg must sign off on Silverstein's bid before a vote by the city's Industrial Development Agency board, which will meet Tuesday.

Silverstein said he's being slowed because some of the sites aren't ready for construction.

"Construction cannot proceed until government finishes excavating," Silverstein said, noting that the timetable for three sites to be ready is mid-2008.

__________________________________________________


DAILY NEWS editorial:

Put the hammer to Larry Silverstein


Real estate developer Larry Silverstein, who holds the rights to build on Ground Zero, is asking the state and city for permission to sell $3.3 billion worth of so-called Liberty Bonds to help finance the office towers that are supposed to rise on the site. He must be required to make some very big promises to get them.

Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg must use every bit of leverage they can apply to persuade Silverstein to surrender his near total control over building the mega-project. And, critically, they must insist that Silverstein forfeit the bonds if his development scheme doesn't meet the tightest possible schedule for construction.

Created by the federal government after 9/11, the bonds are a critical economic development tool that must not go to waste. If Silverstein falters for a minute, he must lose them. And there is great concern he will falter because his plan to build 10 million square feet of office space in five buildings around Ground Zero is economically dubious, even if he does receive all the proceeds of the insurance he had on the World Trade Center.

Just two months before 9/11, Silverstein leased the twin towers from the Port Authority, giving him control of the entire site. After lengthy and continuing court battles, he stands to collect a maximum of $4.6 billion in insurance money. But he already has spent $1.4 billion of the money, leaving at most $3.2 billion to pay for the five buildings, just one of which, the Freedom Tower, is projected to cost $2 billion. He needs the Liberty Bonds to help pay for the remainder, the bulk, of the construction.

The difficulty is that there is very little demand for office space in lower Manhattan, let alone 10 million square feet of it. Silverstein's spanking new tower across from Ground Zero, called 7 World Trade Center, sits vacant, and he has yet to sign a tenant for the Freedom Tower that is supposed to be the centerpiece of the development.

Silverstein says a new marketing program for 7 World Trade Center and state and city financial incentives for tenants will soon produce major lease signings, demonstrating that many big businesses will be interested in lower Manhattan. He'll have to forgive our skepticism, first, because the area is rapidly going residential and, second, because state and city officials say Silverstein's financial projections may be wildly optimistic. They question whether he would be able to charge rents that are high enough to meet the cost of construction and repay debts, making it impossible for him to sell the Liberty Bonds.

Pataki, Bloomberg and the Port Authority have been trying to pressure Silverstein to reduce his role at Ground Zero. Their aim is to speed construction all around the site, including major retail development and some housing. That is clearly the way to go, but it requires persuading Silverstein to limit himself to one or two buildings and to surrender the remainder of the development rights.

The governor and the mayor have leverage right now because Silverstein needs the Liberty Bonds. They must use their power to full advantage and, at all costs, they must not give the bonds to Silverstein without the power to demand their return the moment he falls behind schedule.

[NYguy]

Silverstein says a new marketing program for 7 World Trade Center and state and city financial incentives for tenants will soon produce major lease signings, demonstrating that many big businesses will be interested in lower Manhattan. He'll have to forgive our skepticism, first, because the area is rapidly going residential


Clearly the Daily News editorial writers want to see the WTC site turned into Tribeca South...

[TimmyG]

Originally posted by vc10
What's needed is for private parties to have clear title to the land. Then they'd do what is economically rational (whatever that is). Right now it's all ****ed up. Classic New York and perhaps the best argument ever for getting groups like the PA out of development in NYC.
You might be right about that, but the problem with that is the train station, memorial, and whatever other public buildings they have on the site.

[kliq6]

went to the CB1 meeting last night and attending the IDA meeting today as well. CB1 is a joke, anyone that defends them i take to task. One guy last night didnt know that no other people had asked for liberty bond funding, sat there dumbfounded and didnt seem to get that besides that site, there are no commercial sites left in LM, and the rest of the baord took 20 minutes to figure out what a sky lobby was and then tried to pass a resoltion in favor of giving larry the bonds, but with all these "whereas" included. A absolute joke when people that know nothing about real estate starting running there mouth and want to tell a developer how to rent his space and how to build. Only one guy on that 10 plus member board had a brain, a former commercial broker that seemed to be laughing at all the others

[Ninjahedge]

I wish everyone would just shut up about what they think the best would be for the area.

You can convert office to residential fairly easily, but it gets to be a PITA to do the opposite.

There ARE no large floor area places in the city that are easily aquired anymore. There are lots of companies that would LOVE to be able to have their whole works on one floor instead of split between 2, 3 or in some cases 5 (some of the architects that we work with would find that useful).

Also, everyone keeps talking about how much of a PITA it is to get to the WTC. Where are you coming up with that? Not all NJ Transit lines have a midtown direct line you know! Also, the more people that go to one transit hub, the more crowded the ride becomes.

You can easily take a train, or light rail, over to Hoboken to get a path train right to the WTC. 7 min ride. Cheaper than the link to midtown. AND if they put the PATH link in to NWK, being able to step off teh plane and be at the main office in 30 min is something that is untouchable right now to any part of the city.


So whatever. They can start planning hings like residential spaces in the buildings themselves, but to earmark two entire buildings for that from the cries of politicians before an election is absurd.

[JMGarcia]

You have no reason NOT to believe him. The man has already got a brand new office tower up - proof that he can and will build when allowed to. And he's got to keep paying the PA, he may as well get some tenants to help pay.

Silverstein himself has said he won't be starting those towers within 2 years. I do believe him.

[kliq6]

4 Albany will be built by Moinion as a Hotel/condo project and be called 123 Washington Street
133 greenwich is to be converted to residential.

130 Liberty, since it is not a PA building could be the residential/mixed-use building and that one should not be controlled by Larry.

The Daily News wants LM to fail becuase thereEditor is chairman of Boston Properties, that has a large stake in Midtown.

The 2 million sf Goldman site is truly only a win for downtown office market if the space they leave remains in commercial use and is not converted

And sorry BPC, i love LM and want it to remain a business area, thus why I fight for commercial development all the time, but Midtown is the premier office district now.

[JMGarcia]

I still haven't hear one good reason here why the top of one of the buildings should not be residential in a mixed use retail/commercial/hotel/residential as proposed.

Downtown should definitely remain a primary commercial/office district. But, 500,000 or so sq. ft. out of a total of about 100 million in the area (.5%) is in no way going to effect its future.

Personally I was much more disappointed that the massive site at Wall and Broad is being given over to residential.

[lofter1]

CB1 is a joke, anyone that defends them i take to task ... tried to pass a resoltion in favor of giving larry the bonds, but with all these "whereas" included. A absolute joke ... Only one guy on that 10 plus member board had a brain ...
In this case we might all be lucky that CBs have no real binding power and under NYC regs serve only an advisory role to the agencies that actually make decisions.

[ZippyTheChimp]

still haven't hear one good reason here why the top of one of the buildings should not be residential in a mixed use retail/commercial/hotel/residential as proposed.

No good reason, except that the decision should not be made now. Statements to that effect are just pot-stirring, not necessarily a bad thing. I just can't figure out if Bloomberg is after Pataki or Silverstein - or both.

In my opinion, I don't see Silverstein surviving at the WTC. Besides 7WTC, he is faced with finding tenants for the FT, all the while paying rent that is set to increase by 20%. If the FT is not successfully leased, he will be stopped dead.

While demand could improve, it could also get worse. Besides problems at GM and now at Ford, there is a negative forecast for housing starts that could cost 800,000 construction jobs nationwide.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/12/08/news/economy/housing_bubble_jobs/

A downturn in the economy has a large impact on the financial industry.

[JMGarcia]

No good reason, except that the decision should not be made now. Statements to that effect are just pot-stirring, not necessarily a bad thing. I just can't figure out if Bloomberg is after Pataki or Silverstein - or both.

I think Shelley Silver is somewhere in the mix here. I also think that giving part of the job over to the PA has some financial impact we haven't quite figured out yet.


In my opinion, I don't see Silverstein surviving at the WTC. Besides 7WTC, he is faced with finding tenants for the FT, all the while paying rent that is set to increase by 20%. If the FT is not successfully leased, he will be stopped dead.

Never mind the huge tower 2 that he is responsible for.

I think its interesting there has been absolutely no mention of who would be handling all the retail space, above and below grade, at the site. Is the PA planning on handling it themselves like the did before Westfield? Is Silverstein going to remain in contol of it? Is there a 3rd party we haven't heard about yet?

[ZippyTheChimp]

It may be posted somewhere in this thread, but some time ago, an article mentioned that when Westfield sold their lease back to the PA, they retained the right of first-refusal for the leasing contract offered by the PA.

If this is correct, their exit from the site was not over dissatisfaction with the retail layout, but an accurate forecast of the difficulties in rebuilding. While the lease amount will probably be higher than if they retained the title, they avoided years of payments, and can simply stay away if they don't like it.

[PHLguy]

In my opinion, I don't see Silverstein surviving at the WTC. Besides 7WTC, he is faced with finding tenants for the FT, all the while paying rent that is set to increase by 20%. If the FT is not successfully leased, he will be stopped dead.



If you are right, the FT will not be built and Bloomberg can have his say and turn the site into Condo's.


Great...I got all excited with the New FT this summer and they slap us in the face again.


I'm sorry, I'm just very frustrated...

[ZippyTheChimp]

I don't know how you arrived at that conclusion based on what I said.

[vc10]

I'll see you 2 years and raise you 8 -- does anyone think the WTC site will be complete a decade from now?


Silverstein himself has said he won't be starting those towers within 2 years. I do believe him.

[vc10]

Fight for transportation links and the commercial will take care of itself.



And sorry BPC, i love LM and want it to remain a business area, thus why I fight for commercial development all the time, but Midtown is the premier office district now.

[kliq6]

My point is that besides the WTC no matter what transportation you build, there is nowhere else for commercial development in LM. Only place was near the seaport, but that has been rezoned to not allow anything over 6 stories, with alot of help from CB1.

As for the Freedom Tower not getting built, posted a while back. That is wrong, that buildingng will be built as LS has the funds to do that. However the future of buildinngs 2, 3, 4 and possibly a 5 is far from certain as to if or what type they will be

[TomAuch]

The burst housing bubble will mean that any RESIDENTIAL space, not just commercial space, will also become a white elephant. For those wanting to building condos based on a 2005 market, they will have a hard time selling them in a 2006-2011 housing lull.



No good reason, except that the decision should not be made now. Statements to that effect are just pot-stirring, not necessarily a bad thing. I just can't figure out if Bloomberg is after Pataki or Silverstein - or both.

In my opinion, I don't see Silverstein surviving at the WTC. Besides 7WTC, he is faced with finding tenants for the FT, all the while paying rent that is set to increase by 20%. If the FT is not successfully leased, he will be stopped dead.

While demand could improve, it could also get worse. Besides problems at GM and now at Ford, there is a negative forecast for housing starts that could cost 800,000 construction jobs nationwide.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/12/08/news/economy/housing_bubble_jobs/

A downturn in the economy has a large impact on the financial industry.

[TomAuch]

Clearly the Daily News editorial writers want to see the WTC site turned into Tribeca South...

The owner of the Daily News is linked to a rival real estate firm (I think it's Boston Properties, but I'm not sure.) Ever since 9/11 they've been in the Anti-Rebuilding contigent and against anything commercial. I take what they say with a grain of salt.

[ZippyTheChimp]

The burst housing bubble will mean that any RESIDENTIAL space, not just commercial space, will also become a white elephant. For those wanting to building condos based on a 2005 market, they will have a hard time selling them in a 2006-2011 housing lull.The housing market in New York is at least resilient, and usually insatiable. Prices will take a hit, but the market recovers quickly.

The significant factor is the 800,000 jobs lost, which would have a major effect on the economy. If economic growth is slowed, companies do not look to expand.

[TonyO]

WNYC just reported that suggested resolutions in order to receive the Liberty Bonds Larry will be put on a timetable for recontructing the office and retail space and drop his development fee.

[PHLguy]

I don't know how you arrived at that conclusion based on what I said.



I know that's probably not what you were thinking but If Silverstein loses the site, which is likely to happen Bloomberg will have alot of say to the next rebuilding process. It's like De facto say, It's not official but If he says it's a good idea people will follow him.


"I'll see you 2 years and raise you 8 -- does anyone think the WTC site will be complete a decade from now?"

No, A decade from now there will the the new PATH station, the Memorial, retail and possibly condominiums. I have never thought that any office towers were ever gonna be on this site to begin with and now I'm sure of it, there's no demand for office space, FT will not be built. Nobody wants it! I know alot of you may disagree with me but it's the way I precive it.

I'm not TRYING to be a downer I just don't think the Freedom Tower will ever get built. Look at all these holdups! And look at all of the reasons not too!

[Jake]

There aren't nearly as many holdups as there were when they were building the WTC though. It just seems like these days are all about conflict when there's really less of it. I'll agree with you that the other towers won't be built, I'd also question the "completeness" of the memorial. I think 1WTC will be built just because you can't really do the memorial without the foundations for 1WTC. I also fear that the PATH station will get some stupid budget cut and will have to settle for mediocre materials, taking away the glistening interior we see in the renderings.

[antinimby]

Okay, people.

How 'bout this idea: build no.'s 2, then 3, then perhaps 4 first. Put FT on hold. You will then have retail, the station and the memorial in place and the site will not look like a mess. Remember this, FT will be 7WTC x 100 in difficulty to sell.

By that time, the area will look much more inviting to businesses and companies and who knows, maybe fear of the site and being in the FT will subside even more. This will increase the odds of getting tenants to the FT.

Otherwise, if FT goes up next and flops (and it will very likely), the other buildings and the rebuilding will be in jeopardy. Besides, where does it say that FT has to go up next?

(BTW, you can count on antinimby to come up with the soundest ideas, ;) )

[BPC]

FT is necessary to restore the hole in the skyline.

[ZippyTheChimp]

FT will not be built.Yes it will. There is insurance money.

[ZippyTheChimp]

December 9, 2005

Hearing Yields No Accord on Liberty Bonds for Trade Center

By CHARLES V. BAGLI (http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=CHARLES V. BAGLI&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=CHARLES V. BAGLI&inline=nyt-per)

The Bloomberg administration and Larry A. Silverstein, the developer who holds the rights to rebuild the World Trade Center site, remain at odds over the conditions governing his use of Liberty Bonds to finance building office towers on the site.

Mr. Silverstein has asked for all of the remaining $3.35 billion in tax-exempt bonds to rebuild five towers on or near the site. But because the bonds expire at the end of 2009, city officials have sought to impose strict timelines on construction that would enable the city to use some of the bonds elsewhere if the developer cannot use them in time.

City officials say they may want to use a small portion of the bonds for retail development on the trade center site and have questioned Mr. Silverstein's proposal for a 5 percent development fee, which could add $100 million to the cost of the Freedom Tower, the first skyscraper planned for the site.

At a public hearing yesterday concerning the bonds, Andrew M. Alper, chairman of the city's Industrial Development Agency, said that the two sides "remain far apart." He said that if the matter could not be resolved in time for a vote at the agency's meeting on Tuesday, it would be postponed until January or February.

Mr. Silverstein, who leased the trade center from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey two months before Sept. 11, 2001, plans to start construction of the $2 billion Freedom Tower in the spring.

In remarks after the hearing, Mr. Alper said one sticking point was the developer's request for the entire allocation of Liberty Bonds for buildings that will be erected over the next 10 years. He also said the city wanted to prevent Mr. Silverstein from taking "excessive development fees out of the project."

The hearing took place as Mr. Silverstein has come under increasing pressure from the Port Authority and city and state officials to relinquish a portion of the 16-acre trade center site. The developer plans to build one tower at a time, but officials say they can accelerate development if Mr. Silverstein cedes two sites on Church Street, next to the new PATH terminal, to the Port Authority. The authority, in turn, would solicit developers for a mall and two smaller office buildings.

But yesterday, the Silverstein camp appeared to rebuff the idea and blamed government for any delays in the rebuilding effort.

John N. Lieber, senior vice president of Silverstein Properties, said after the hearing that the developer would build all the towers "as soon as government provides the sites."

"Larry Silverstein is not only prepared to build, but he has the ability to finance the project through the insurance proceeds," Mr. Lieber said.
"Liberty Bonds are essential to ensuring that this project is built as quickly as possible."

But there is simply not enough money. More than $1.4 billion out of a maximum of $4.6 billion in insurance proceeds has been spent to pay off the mortgage on the complex and on rent and legal and development fees. The Freedom Tower alone is expected to cost at least $2 billion, or a quarter of the total price tag, and, according to real estate executives, take years to become fully occupied.

The debate over the bonds drew an unusually large number of people to the hearing, about three dozen, including some who favor rebuilding the twin towers at the site.

A number of politicians - including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/hillary_rodham_clinton/index.html?inline=nyt-per), Representative Charles B. Rangel (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/charles_b_rangel/index.html?inline=nyt-per) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/sheldon_silver/index.html?inline=nyt-per) - sent letters endorsing Mr. Silverstein's bond application. Senator Charles E. Schumer (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/charles_e_schumer/index.html?inline=nyt-per) also supported the request, but said the allocation should require Mr. Silverstein to lease most of 7 World Trade Center, a nearly completed skyscraper on a site nearby, in the next year.

Carl Weisbrod, a former president of the city's Economic Development Corporation, said it would not be "wise" to allocate all the remaining bonds to Mr. Silverstein for highly speculative buildings that would not be built for years to come.

Jonathan Hakala, chairman of the Coalition for a New Twin Towers, said it made no sense to allow Mr. Silverstein to use $2 billion in bonds for the "deeply unpopular and fatally flawed" Freedom Tower.


Copyright 2005 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html)The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)

Jonathan Hakala, chairman of the Coalition for a New Twin Towers, said it made no sense to allow Mr. Silverstein to use $2 billion in bonds for the "deeply unpopular and fatally flawed" Freedom Tower
Oh Jesus.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Silverstein Faces Some Competition For Liberty Bonds

BY DAVID LOMBINO - Staff Reporter of the Sun
December 9, 2005
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/24196

Developer Larry Silverstein has some serious competition for the tax-exempt Liberty Bonds he wants to use to rebuild the World Trade Center site - in the form of an application from developer Joseph Moinian for $147 million in tax-exempt bonds to build a 53-story, mixed-use hotel and residential condominium tower about a block south of ground zero.

Mr. Moinian's $240 million project, which includes 440,000 square feet, 220 hotel rooms, and 180 residential condo units, appears to fall more in line with Mayor Bloomberg's vision for more mixed-use development in Lower Manhattan. Construction is ready to begin immediately and could be completed by 2007, according to Mr. Moinian.

The address of the Moinian building would be 123 Washington St., now an empty lot. The site, adjacent to the Deutsche Bank building now being dismantled, was affected by the September 11, 2001, attacks but not as severely as the Silverstein site.

Andrew Alper, the president of the city's Industrial Development Agency, the agency that distributes the bonds, indicated that the city, state, and Mr. Moinian have discussed $50 million in bonds, considerably less than the developer's original proposal. The bonds would essentially finance the hotel portion of the development. Should Mr. Moinian not receive the bonds, the project will be built as luxury condos.

Yesterday, Mr. Moinian, whose firm says it already controls 14 million square feet of Manhattan real estate, said his application was not intended to compete with the redevelopment of ground zero. "I want nothing more than to see Silverstein succeed in developing the World Trade Center site, I have no doubt that he will get this done. My request has been to add to and complement the site, Silverstein's project, and to the heart of Lower Manhattan, bringing a beautiful structure and a first class hotel to the area, including permanent jobs."

Both developers' Liberty Bond applications were submitted in April. Mr. Moinian's bonds could come out of Mr. Silverstein's request for all $3.35 billion remaining of the Liberty Bonds that were authorized by Congress after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Yesterday the city held a public hearing over Mr. Silverstein's application to use all of the remaining Liberty Bonds to replace the 10 million square feet of commercial office that was lost when the World Trade Center was destroyed. The financing from the bonds would supplement insurance proceeds from the terrorist attacks that could amount to $4.65 billion.

Mr. Alper yesterday said that the city would negotiate over the weekend with Mr. Silverstein, with the goal of settling on the terms and conditions of a bond allocation before a potential vote on Tuesday. "We don't have many disagreements with Larry Silverstein," he said.

In an effort to add more flexibility to a long-term deal and hedge some of the risk from depleting the entire Liberty Bond arsenal, Mr. Alper said the city is trying to add "claw-backs" that would allow the city to take back the bonds and redistribute the tax-exempt financing to other development projects if certain construction benchmarks are not met.

Mr. Alper noted that one potential future use for the bonds was to help develop a retail component at ground zero, a task that belongs to the Port Authority, but no application has been filed. He also said the city wanted to make sure that Mr. Silverstein's developer's fee is not "too excessive."

Yesterday the senior vice president of Silverstein's World Trade Center Properties, John Lieber, downplayed the differences between the city and the developer. "The big issue has been resolved. The city wanted a commitment to an aggressive schedule and we agreed," Mr. Lieber said. He said the savings in finance costs generated from the Liberty Bonds would permit the developer to build the project "as fast as engineering can allow."

Yesterday's public hearing over Mr. Silverstein's application lasted nearly two hours and contained passionate testimony both for and against Mr. Silverstein's proposal. More than 20 civic leaders and private citizens used a variety of economic, political, moral, and logistical arguments to try to influence the board members of the IDA in advance of its vote.

The co-chair of Battery Park City United, David Stanke, said the mayor's suggestion of taking control of the site from Mr. Silverstein "feels like eminent domain - taking the rights of a private developer and giving it back to the government."

The chairman of the West Street Coalition, John Dellaportas, said it was immoral to use the Liberty Bonds for any purpose other than "filling that hole." He said that the city was unfit to tell a private developer how he should spend his money. "History will record that Osama bin Laden destroyed the World Trade Center and Michael Bloomberg kept it from being rebuilt," he said.

If the vote on the bonds is delayed beyond the scheduled meeting Tuesday, a resolution may have to wait until regularly scheduled monthly board meetings in January, February or beyond

[TonyO]

Jonathan Hakala, chairman of the Coalition for a New Twin Towers, said it made no sense to allow Mr. Silverstein to use $2 billion in bonds for the "deeply unpopular and fatally flawed" Freedom Tower

Oh Jesus.

That guy is just not ever going to be satisfied.

[BPC]

Hakala only cares about one thing -- rebuilding the Towers as they once were. He seems to think that if Silverstein is booted from the WTC site, that is more likely to happen. In fact, he has it completely backwards. If Silverstein goes, we will not get the old WTC back, we will get a couple of forty-story condo buildings and a Marriott Hotel. The Mayor wants 24M square feet of office space in the Far West Side, and no one is going to rent any of that if equivalent space is available atop two transportation terminals in the Financial District. The FT is a worthy successor to the old North Tower in every respect, and we have not yet even seen the designs for any of the other buildings. He should declare victory and move on.

[PHLguy]

Yes it will. There is insurance money.


It's not needed though, that's what bloomberg is saying, and I think he has a point even though I do not approve of his site plan.


Jake, I will also agree with you that the other towers will not get built. I have yet to understand why people are still expecting all of the towers to be completed 10 years from now? 10 Years from now if bloombergs input is listened to we will have a bunch of condominiums much shorter than the WTC was originally planned.

[ZippyTheChimp]

^
You're confusing the insurance funds with Liberty bonds.

Silverstein was awarded $4.6 billion in the insurance settlement, of which $1.4 billion has already been spent. That is enough money to build the $2 billion FT. No one is saying that Silverstein can't use the insurance to build any towers.

However, Silverstein does not have enough cash to construct all the other towers. He needs to secure financing, and that's where the $3.5 billion Liberty bond fund comes in. By the way, Silverstein would not actually get $3.5 billion, but lower interest loans to finance construction.

The Liberty bonds is what Bloomberg is saying should not go to Silverstein. But this has nothing to do with the FT, which is being built with insurance proceeds.

You are also overstating Bloomberg's influence on the site.

He controls half the LMDC, along with Pataki. The LMDC is part of the EDC, the state agency over which the city has no control.

The site is owned by the PA, a bi-state agency completely controlled by Pataki and the gov of NJ.

The site is not subject to NYC land-use-review.

[PHLguy]

I understand better now but I still thinks that leaves a window of uncertainty for the other towers.

[antinimby]

The FT is a worthy successor to the old North Tower in every respect,Not quite true. Better in some areas and worst in others. It will have less space (2.6 msf vs. 5.0 msf) but should be structurally stronger.

[BPC]

Only half the square feet? How can that be? I know the building is tapered on top, but it seems to me like something is being left out of the equation.

[Jake]

Also old WTC was 110 floors, don't forget that. And it exceeds safety regulations unlike the WTC which I don't think even met them. It has more staircases and stuff like that. Every aspect of the FT just chips square feet off the original North tower.

[Jake]

Not quite true. Better in some areas and worst in others..

The thing I like about the FT are the tapered corners and the spire (well I guess I'll have to see what it will look like) which will be a huge improvement over the UGLY cable attached antenna. Otherwise, (exterior steel, the base, etc) I liked the old WTC more. Still I'd say the FT with small adjustments which will inevitably come with time, is a worthy replacement (wish the top was even a few feet taller though).

[lofter1]

Joint Venture Is Chosen to Build PATH Terminal and Transportation Hub at Ground Zero

By DAVID W. DUNLAP (http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=DAVID W. DUNLAP&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=DAVID W. DUNLAP&inline=nyt-per)
New York Times
December 10, 2005

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/10/nyregion/10rebuild.html


In one of the most reliable signs yet that large-scale building is about to begin at ground zero, the Port Authority plans to award a $1.1 billion contract to four giant construction and engineering firms to oversee the World Trade Center PATH terminal and transportation hub.

Far from the ribbon cuttings and saber rattling - and behind closed doors because negotiations are not finished - the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted Thursday to authorize the award of the construction management and general contractor post to a joint venture called Phoenix Constructors.

Almost certainly a reference to the new trade center rising from the ashes, and perhaps a nod to the birdlike form given to the transportation hub by the architect Santiago Calatrava, the Phoenix group is composed of:

¶Fluor Enterprises, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fluor Corporation, which drew criticism recently as one of the winners of $100 million no-bid contracts awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for recovery from Hurricane Katrina. (The head of the agency told a Senate panel in October that new bids would be sought.)

¶Bovis Lend Lease, which holds the $75 million contract to dismantle the former Deutsche Bank building opposite ground zero and was the lead contractor in clearing the trade center site after 9/11.

¶Slattery Skanska, which led the consortium building the $1.9 billion, eight-mile AirTrain system, with 10 stations in and around Kennedy International Airport.

¶Granite Halmar Construction Company, a major contractor for the Port Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Because negotiations are still under way, no Port Authority executive would comment on the contract. Neither would the companies. The award was reported yesterday in two New Jersey newspapers, The Star-Ledger and The Record.

The losing bidder was a joint venture of Bechtel Infrastructure Corporation, Kiewit Constructors, Turner Construction Company and Tully Construction Company.

According to the board resolution, an evaluation committee "identified Phoenix Constructors as the highest technically qualified firm that provides the best value."

The contract calls for $200 million in preparatory work and $900 million in construction to be performed by Phoenix or its subcontractors. Phoenix may also be involved in excavating and installing foundation walls for the east bathtub - as the building foundations between Church and Greenwich Streets are called - and with retail construction at those sites.



Copyright 2005 (http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/copyright.html)The New York Times Company (http://www.nytco.com/)

[JMGarcia]

Open up to closing off Cortlandt St.

By David Stanke
http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_135/talking%20point.html

Do you want your retail back?


The most significant 9/11 loss of facilities for the World Trade Center community, was the retail shopping concourse. It was our town center. All community redevelopment discussions stress the importance of retail facilities. Port Authority plans to maximize the retail given site limitations by putting a Winter Garden-like enclosure over Cortlandt St. between Church and Greenwich. Anyone working in the World Financial Center or living in Battery Park City understands how important the Winter Garden is as a pedestrian walkway and retail center. It is the glue of commercial, neighborhood and tourist communities.


The opening of the Winter Garden after 9/11 was one of the most dramatic markers of our recovery. The Cortlandt atrium, as the Winter Garden of W.T.C. east, would be a huge benefit to every community using the W.T.C.


Unfortunately, the Bloomberg administration has different priorities. The city wants to extend Cortlandt 200 feet from Church to Greenwich as a traditional 45-foot-wide street. According to the Port Authority, these modifications will eliminate 30 percent of W.T.C. retail space. In exchange for this loss, we will get one more sight line over the subterranean mega-memorial. It is unfortunate that residents need to lobby for what the free market would naturally provide: the best pedestrian and retail environment possible.


In the opinion of City Planning, Cortlandt provides the only direct visual link between Broadway and the memorial. While not completely accurate (Liberty provides some of this view), it brings to mind just one question: Why is it important to view the subterranean memorial by looking up a narrow street from two blocks away on Broadway?


With the abundance of openness across the site, an additional sight line from Broadway to the World Financial Center is just not important. The Port Authority plan for a Cortlandt atrium will allow east-west pedestrian passage to the memorial and view lines across the memorial. It will also create a two-block, enclosed north-south, street-level retail passage. The glass structure over Cortlandt will retain the openness between the planned commercial buildings. It will provide an attractive gathering point that gracefully connects the commercial buildings to the north and south, while visually breaking up the facades along Church and Greenwich Sts.


The P.A. plan creates retail at street level, below grade, and two stories above grade. The Port Authority plan provides easily-accessible upper-level retail that will leverage street level retail and surrounding commercial space. In addition, the second and third floors of the Cortlandt atrium will offer the best publicly-accessible views of the memorial. The spectacular views of the memorial and Freedom Tower will draw people into the neighborhood and up into the second- and third-floor retail spaces.


Our old super-block of retail is gone. But Cortlandt will be a unique retail environment that will add to the attractiveness of the area and increase pedestrian presence on surrounding streets. This retail environment, along with Century 21 and J&R Music will strengthen Downtown as a weekend shopping destination — the fastest way to increase street vitality on weekends.


W.T.C. retail was legendary for having the highest sales revenue per square foot in the country. This is the only meaningful measure of value to the communities of Lower Manhattan. The P.A. plan will produce 500,000 square feet of retail. The city’s plan will reduce this total to between 350,000 and 400,000 square feet, a reduction of up to 30%. For comparison, there was 450,000 square feet of space before 9/11. An expansion to 600,000 square feet of retail was just beginning before the attack. The drop from 600,000 to 350,000 would be a dramatic loss for the community.


“Opening” Cortlandt will have other negative impacts. It will take away an indoor area needed for escalator access between retail floors. This eliminates the third-floor retail, and reduces the usability of all levels. An opened Cortlandt will be mostly in shadows and void of people. It will turn the area into just another Downtown street corner, reducing the vitality.


This 45-foot-wide stretch of Cortlandt is not important for vehicular traffic, and in fact, it will produce a security risk. Today, Cortlandt is a dead-end street used primarily for deliveries and by vehicles circling for parking. Extending a narrow street between two new W.T.C. buildings is not a responsible plan.


Another criticism of the P.A. plan is that it creates a 475-foot building wall along Church St. This 475-foot stretch is no longer than many Midtown blocks. The glass enclosure between Greenwich and Church stretches the block to a comfortable size and enhances the entrance for retail and commercial facilities as well as the Path Station. With good architecture, the walk along Church will traverse two beautiful buildings visually separated by an atrium that complements the overall site.


The Port Authority reports that retail interest in a W.T.C. location is strong, already exceeding available space. There is a clear need to maximize retail space for future market demand.


City Planning is mindlessly applying theoretical constructs and dogmatic solutions that deny reality. The Port Authority, Silverstein Properties, and local residents regularly agree on the broad vision for the W.T.C. site. This should be no surprise, since these are the people who owned and used the site prior to 9/11. Let’s hope the Bloomberg administration will listen and respect our knowledge and vision.

David Stanke lives and writes in Downtown Manhattan. His e-mail is davestanke@ebond.com.

[TonyO]

Downtown Express

Silverstein bond fight creates new friends and foes

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_135/larry.gif
World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein, left, shared a laugh with John Whitehead, chairperson of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., at a groundbreaking ceremony last week for the Goldman Sachs building under construction catty-corner to the W.T.C. site.

By Josh Rogers


Maybe it’s time to update the cliché. World Trade Center politics makes strange bedfellows.


The push by Larry Silverstein to get the remaining $3.35 billion in tax-free Liberty Bonds immediately so he can begin to build five offices at the site, has reshuffled the deck of allies and foes at the W.T.C. Consider:


*The mayor’s office and the Port Authority, which continue to argue over the site’s retail and street plan, seem to agree on getting Silverstein to make more commitments before letting him have all of the bonds and develop the entire site.


*Carl Weisbrod, a Downtown business leader, and Bettina Damiani, an advocate with Good Jobs New York, which has continually criticized the dominance of big business interests in the rebuilding efforts, now agree that there should be no hurry to grant all of the bonds to Silverstein now.


*Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who has agreed with Weisbrod on almost every post-9/11 matter Downtown, disagrees this time and thinks Silverstein should get most, if not all of the money now. Silver is pretty much on the same side with his number one foe in Albany, Gov. George Pataki.


“I don’t think we need to commit all of the Liberty Bonds now,” Weisbrod, former president of the Downtown Alliance who heads Trinity Church’s real estate division, said in a telephone interview. Most of the sites are a few years away from being ready to be rebuilt and there is no reason to rush the allocation, particularly since Silver was able to get Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Pataki to pledge not to use any more bonds in Midtown, Weisbrod said. There is a pressing need to build the W.T.C. stores on Church St., Weisbrod added, and $400 million of Liberty Bonds could be used for retail spaces.


Congress approved $8 billion in tax-free bonds for New York City after 9/11 and has since extended the expiration date until 2009. One reason the city is pressing Silverstein is officials don’t want to lose the bonds if Silverstein is not ready to build all of the buildings in 2009.


“Silverstein, one developer, might do things consecutively whereas multiple developers might do things concurrently,” Bloomberg said at a press conference Wednesday. “I don’t know if that’s the way it would turn out…. You don’t want a construction site going on for the next 15 years.”

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_135/wtc.gif


The developer used to say his plan was to rebuild one W.T.C. office every two years, but in a prepared statement Wednesday, Silverstein said “construction cannot proceed until government finishes excavating and otherwise preparing those sites for development. According to government’s own timetable, the sites for towers three, four and five will not be turned over until mid-2008 at the earliest….


“We remain confident that our Liberty Bond application will be approved and that we can all work together to accomplish what the people of this City and State want and deserve – a rebuilt World Trade Center site.”


The Port Authority must build a slurry wall on Church St. before Towers 3 and 4 can be built and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation must dismantle the contaminated Deutsche Bank building before construction could begin at the Tower 5 site on Liberty St.


Silver, who has remained steadfast in his support of Silverstein, said the remaining bonds are not too much more than the costs of building the Freedom Tower — where construction is supposed to begin in a few months — and Tower 2 at the corner of Church and Vesey Sts. — where construction could be ready to commence in a year.


“If he’s ready to go on the Freedom Tower, he should get that,” Silver said in a telephone interview. “If he’s ready to go on number 2, he should get that. I’m not sure there’s a lot [of money] left after that.”


Silverstein’s application to the city is to use the money to help pay for all five building sites. The city and Port Authority are not likely to support a plan in which all of the bonds are used on just two buildings. The New York Times reported that the Port Authority wants Silverstein to back away from developing the last three commercial sites.


Officials with the Port declined to comment on the use of Liberty Bonds on the W.T.C., which they own, or on negotiations with Silverstein. A spokesperson for Silverstein said he had no comment beyond the developer’s statement.


Negotiations between all of the parties continues and the city’s Industrial Development Agency may vote on the bonds at its next meeting, Tues., Dec. 13.


Pataki said everyone is working cooperatively and that Silverstein “has very clear rights to those properties, and as we work together we’ve had deadlines that have been very difficult for him to meet and he has met them.”


Community Board 1’s World Trade Center Redevelopment Committee passed a resolution Wednesday, which would support Silverstein’s receiving the bonds under two conditions: that he demonstrate he could begin building as soon as the sites were physically ready and that the bonds could be called back and redistributed if he failed to meet the first condition.


Julie Menin, the community board’s chairperson, said committee members consulted with experts before coming up with the resolution and she think the conditions could meet the city and Port’s understandable concerns.


“We felt strongly there should be a set of standards and benchmarks,” she said.


But not everyone wants to proceed with the current office plan – Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor and former C.E.O., and Damiani, the advocate who denounces corporate subsidies, to name two.


The mayor said it took 13 years to fill up the Twin Tower offices and 20 years to get market rents. On Wednesday, he repeated his call to consider mixed uses at the site.


He didn’t sound too different than Damiani the day before. “We’re going to use public money to build offices where there are no tenants,” she said.

With reporting by Ronda Kaysen

[NewYorkYankee]

Are the plans for the temporary retail stores on Church St. still being considered, or have the been nixed?

[TonyO]

Crain's

Dethroning builder may not speed WTC

Infrastructure needs will hold up project for months even if others join Silverstein

By Julie Satow
Published on December 12, 2005


Pressure mounted last week on World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein to give up some control over Ground Zero, but sidelining him may not accelerate the rebuilding process at all.

That's because the pace of redevelopment at the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is contingent on the construction of underground infrastructure--a government project that's many months from completion.


At issue are the retaining walls, known as the bathtub, that must be erected in the southeastern corner of the 16-acre site. The basement structure will hold back water that runs under lower Manhattan, as well as house storage and other mechanical facilities serving the towers built on top of it.

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which owns the site and is responsible for building the bathtub, is only now finalizing the engineering and design work and will not start the job until the weather warms next year. The expected date of completion is late in 2007 at best.

"It will take 18 months to two years to build the bathtub, and the earliest we will begin is in the spring," says Steven Coleman, a Port Authority official.

The bathtub on the west side of Ground Zero, where Mr. Silverstein is set to begin construction of the Freedom Tower next year, remained intact after the Sept. 11 catastrophe.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Port Authority have suggested that scaling back Mr. Silverstein's role in developing the southeastern corner of the site could facilitate construction there.

Mr. Silverstein and his top executive on the project insist that they are not slowing the pace of development. They say they will be ready to build as soon as the bathtub is completed.


Group approach


"We share the mayor's desire to expedite construction," says Janno Lieber, Silverstein Properties' project coordinator for the World Trade Center. "However, construction cannot proceed until the government finishes excavating and otherwise preparing those sites for development."

For city and agency officials, who concede that construction of the bathtub is a prerequisite for site development, Mr. Silverstein's claims are beside the point: They simply doubt his ability to complete the entire project in a timely manner. These critics say that several developers working together could build on different parts of the site simultaneously--while Mr. Silverstein plans to construct each tower himself, one at a time.

Mr. Bloomberg has used the potential allocation of $3.35 billion in tax-free Sept. 11 Liberty Bonds, which Mr. Silverstein says he needs to complete the project, as leverage. Andrew Alper, chairman of the city's Industrial Development Agency--which is responsible for distributing Liberty Bonds--said at a hearing last week that the two sides "remain far apart." One key issue is whether to award the bonds only if Mr. Silverstein guarantees that he will meet certain construction milestones.

"Silverstein Properties is a relatively thin development firm, and just in terms of capacity, it is questionable whether it has the resources--both human and financial--to develop the site in an efficient manner," says an official familiar with the rebuilding effort.


Cheap money


Mr. Silverstein argues that no other builder could finance the redevelopment of the site as inexpensively as he can; he cites the $4.65 billion in insurance proceeds he is receiving following the destruction of the World Trade Center. However, Mr. Silverstein has so far spent at least $1.4 billion of the money on legal fees, rent payments to the Port Authority and other expenses. The price tag for the Freedom Tower is estimated at $2 billion.

The developer also points out that he has hired staffers who have experience with some of the city's largest development projects, including the Time Warner Center, the New York Times building and the new Moynihan train station at the Farley Post Office.

Comments? JSatow@crain.com

[BPC]

My chat with Michael

NY Daily News

Opinion

by Larry Silverstein

December 12, 2005

Shortly after Mayor Bloomberg came out with a statement, I called him and I said, "Michael, you are transforming into a manic-depressive, a week ago at the Brooklyn Navy Yard extolling my virtues as the perfect private sector partner, and Friday you said, 'Got to get rid of him.' Which do you really mean?"

We subsequently spent maybe an hour and a half together. There were a series of things he was totally unaware of. For example, there is a general view that somehow I am at the core of delay issues ... and so I explained to Michael that there is a need to build underneath the site millions of feet of activities that existed before 9/11 and need to exist once again. ... What I explained to Michael is that there is nothing that I can do other than the Freedom Tower - and the Freedom Tower is going into the ground in April 2006 - but that the earliest we can start on Tower 2 is when the Port Authority delivers to us a finished excavation with slurry walls around it. The timing for that is July 2007. So in July 2007 we are prepared to go into the ground for Tower 2. ...

I explained this to Michael. I said, "Michael, this is a 7-acre site. The excavation is large and deep. Therefore the amount of cubic yards of earth and refuse that is going to be pulled out of there is enormous. At its height, there will be 2,000 vehicles a day working in and around the site."

As you can begin to understand, as he began to comprehend, the magnitude of the effort affecting this part of the city will be enormous. Getting through all this will be difficult, and I said, "Michael, the reason I'm telling you this is that this is the Port Authority's responsibility to accomplish. So the people who are telling you I'm the cause of delay are giving you misinformation. ..."

I said, therefore, we will start construction on an as-given basis by the Port Authority with respect to individual sites, and that will go forward to completion.

He said, "Larry, I'm sorry. I didn't understand that," and he said, "I really apologize to you. I'm sorry I said things I didn't mean to say. And I am sorry."

He said, "I'm concerned. I'd like to get housing down there. I think it would be beneficial because housing brings vitality and activity after hours. I don't want to see just an office area where everything goes dark after hours."

I explained to Michael that retail is part of everything we do. Retail here is an essential ingredient to giving life and vitality to these office buildings, and these office buildings are an essential ingredient to making the retailers a success because the people from the office buildings come down and buy in the shops.

We also explained that on 9/11 we lost 15 million square feet of first-class office space, and more recently 12.7 million square feet of office buildings have been taken off the market downtown and converted to residential use. ... So we lost 27.7 million square feet of office space in that market place. ... I explained to Mike that one of the things that is so unique about this site and the reason this needs to be put back is because this is the financial capital of the world, and ... we've got footprints here that are of enormous size.

If you need large trading floors or large floors for other types of use, there is no place available in the city. It doesn't exist. There was a place at the West Yards, but the West Yards are served by one mass transit line, the No. 7, if and when it is built. It is the one and only line serving the so-called 25 million square feet of space that Mike pushed significantly and severely for creation because the city is going to need the expansion. We have 14 mass transit lines here. We have a mass transit facility the likes of which is extraordinary, and $5 billion is going in to make it even more beautiful. ...

So I explained, "Michael, these are the realities: a) you need the office space to keep this a vital office center; b) you yourself extolled the need for 25 million square feet on the West Side. We are only putting back 10 million where 27 million formerly existed. And you are doing it in a location where the mass transit is extraordinary - and there are 30,000 to 35,000 families living there already and more are coming on a daily basis. The area is vibrant. It's exciting. It's dynamic. This is where it belongs."

One other thing I explained to him, and that is, insurance companies don't want to pay to begin with. They certainly won't pay for that which they didn't cover. Their coverage obligation is only for office buildings. They have no obligation to pay for apartment houses. I said, "Michael, this is such an extraordinary opportunity to take $4.6 billion of insurance company money. I mean if you don't replace the office buildings, you lose that money, and who is going to build? What's going to happen?"

I sat there with Michael, explained this. He listened. He said, "You know I really did not understand it. I have nothing against you personally and I apologize." As he walked out, he said it would still be nice to get residential somehow. Oh, my God.

Excerpted from an interview last week with the Daily News Editorial Board.

Originally published on December 12, 2005

[krulltime]

"It will take 18 months to two years to build the bathtub, and the earliest we will begin is in the spring," says Steven Coleman, a Port Authority official...

Mr. Silverstein and his top executive on the project insist that they are not slowing the pace of development. They say they will be ready to build as soon as the bathtub is completed.

What!! Oh man, and the curse of the WTC keeps on going...

[ZippyTheChimp]

Only half the square feet? How can that be? I know the building is tapered on top, but it seems to me like something is being left out of the equation. The twin towers did not contain 10 million square ft of floor space. That figure is for the entire complex. The maximum floor area was 40,000 sq ft, so the total for each building was less than 4.4 million sq ft.

Also, the floor to ceiling height was about 12 ft. A modern office building has a floor to ceiling height of at least 14 ft, so a building of 1350 ft would have about 90 floors.

20 floors X 40,000 sq ft = 800,000 sq ft.

So, a building with the same exterior dimensions as the twin towers would have a maximum of 3.6 million sq ft - and that does not account for items such as wider stairways.

[TonyO]

The naysayers need to get real about the office market, an all-office WTC will be filled...In a market under 10% vacancy you build. Rents are only going to go up.

The Real Deal

December 12, 12:04 pm

Office market may now be strongest since 2001

The Manhattan commercial market may be at its strongest in more than four years. That’s at least according to numbers released Monday morning by Colliers ABR that show the overall vacancy rate in Manhattan at its lowest in November - 8.9 percent - since the 8.8 percent of July 2001. The drop comes at the same time that the average asking rent held steady from October at well above $41 a square foot.

The market for Class A space, according to Colliers ABR, exited November particularly strong. The Class A vacancy rate dropped to 7.7 percent in November from 8.2 percent in October and 10.3 percent in November 2004. The average asking rent for Class A space in Manhattan was at $50.55, a slight decline from the $50.72 of October, but well above the $47.95 of November 2004.

Midtown South appeared to enter December as the strongest commercial submarket, thanks in part to a recent 281,000-square-foot expansion and relocation by Google at 111 Eighth Avenue. Its overall vacancy rate dropped to 8.4 percent from 9 percent in October and 11.6 percent in November of last year. The vacancy rate for Class A space in Midtown South dropped to 6.1 percent, and the rate for Class B space - which dominates the submarket - tumbled from 9.8 percent in October to 8.7 percent in November. Overall average asking rents in Midtown South held steady month to month at around $32.50 a square foot.

Traditional market leader Midtown’s overall vacancy rate declined, too, from 8.7 percent in October to 8.3 percent in November. This continues a steady drop in Midtown’s vacancy rate; it stood at more than 10 percent during the same month last year. The Class A vacancy rate dropped to 7.2 percent from 7.8 percent in October and 9.1 percent in November 2004. The overall average asking rent held at $49.88 a square foot from October to November.

Even long-lamented Downtown got in on the strong commercial gains. That submarket’s Class A vacancy rate, according to Colliers ABR, dropped to 9.5 percent from 9.9 percent in October - its best showing since the 7.5 percent of September 2001. The overall vacancy rate dropped, too, to 11.4 percent from 11.8 percent - and 14.4 percent in November 2004. The overall average asking rent Downtown, however, dropped from $31.36 in October to $30.93 in November, something the Colliers ABR report attributed to a price adjustment in the World Trade Center submarket.

[TimmyG]

I wonder if 7WTC is included in the vacancy statistics for downtown.

[Jonathan_Hakala]

Bloomberg News is reporting that "Silverstein today temporarily withdrew his application for $3.5 billion in low-cost Liberty Bond financing" and that a "vote on the bonds tomorrow by the city's Industrial Development Authority was called off, and talks will continue".

[lofter1]

Analysis / opinion via Miss Representation (heads up from Curbed) ...

http://www.missrepresentation.com/archives/2005/12/1000000000.html

December 09, 2005

1,000,000,000. What does a billion -- excuse me, make that $1.4 billion, but, really, who is counting? -- get you downtown? Nothing, apparently. This week’s theater of the absurd downtown featured a scuffle about Liberty Bonds. Set to expire in just about four years (roughly the same amount of time that has elapsed since the attacks, if you want to measure progress), the $3.35 billion in government funds can buy a lot of something, provided that something is agreed upon, designed and built. Or it can buy more of the $1.4 rabbit hole built so far -- currently filling that are "pay[ing] off the mortgage on the complex and on rent and legal and development fees" (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/nyregion/09liberty.html?ex=1291784400&en=ab411e19a2d78fe9&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss).

So we know at least one thing got built downtown with this money: Libeskind’s TriBeCa loft, from which he looks woefully downtown and laments the tattered remnants of his master ‘plan’ reduced now to a shopping mall, replete with a galleria, a train station filled with three levels of shopping, one tower that is clad in large part with opaque stone, and a memorial that, even as more and more elements are removed, gets more expensive every passing month.

Even as everyone is maneuvering for the scratch, no one is really ponying up with hard numbers (what do these people do all day?). There are no solid estimates for infrastructure development (what part of site prep the PANYNJ will pick up, how much is covered by the PATH station, who will pay for the bus garage), the memorial (RFP for construction management released this week, only what, two years after design was complete?), the Freedom Tower or the shopping mall. The most recent budget scrambler was the decision to eliminate the plan for a single chiller (which would provide the cooled water necessary to run air conditioning systems) for the entire site. In a fit of 1970’s planning, the PANJNY went ahead and designed it (remember the discussion about the holes in the PATH station and the Freedom/Drawing Center? They were for the chiller.), then someone found out it was going to pulverize large numbers of Hudson River fish (that we gave up Westway to protect) and now everyone is scrambling to redesign HVAC systems.

About $6 billion is available, between insurance funds and Liberty Bonds. Silverstein’s position is he should get all of it, since, based on the lease he signed, building buildings wasn't part of his expense, so he should get the money (which isn't even enough, by most measures) to return to the site the amount of office space square footage lost (absurdly, the lease he has is still in effect). Everyone else, upon hearing this argument, looks meaningfully at 7 WTC, which has made the news [sic] only once in the past few months, and that was because the Architect’s Newspaper had a party there (and it wasn’t to celebrate signing an anchor tenant). Given that the PANYNJ seems to have the authority to build their godawful mall regardless of what Silverstein says, the 200+ feet of fortified cladding on the Freedom Tower, and the general confusion about the site, none of the five towers proposed for the site proper will be very attractive as rental properties (for towers two thorugh five, it’s not even clear where the lobbies would be). This means 7WTC, also very nearing completion, should be the easiest to rent. And we’ve seen how that has gone.

There isn’t much in the way of a counter-proposal, beyond a request that Silverstein cough up the lots where the mall would sit (interesting how that got designed in such a transparent way, huh?), and let the PANYNJ do their retail thing, with towers to follow when the market rebounds. Which is another way of saying never. But don’t give any props to that move, since it presumes that after memorializing, the most significant activity that should occur on the site is shopping. The argument that the previous retail was so successful ignores the 50,000 people who worked there, perhaps another 20,000 who passed through on their commute, and another pile of tourists who didn’t arrive on site to honor the dead. By planting basically a suburban New Jersey mall at the start of everyone’s evening commute was a stroke of retailing genius, but that isn’t a condition that can be recreated -- nor should it.

Silverstein claims he is ready to go on everything, provided he gets the money. A passel of state pols are in support of this, but mostly because it is an expedient political position: far better to foist a boondoggle on New York that won’t be proved as such until they all secure their next term rather than appear like they can't get anything done. The silver lining is Chuck Schumer, who said moneys should be contingent on renting something. Silverstein also thinks this eagerness should be rewarded with a cool $100 million in development ‘fees’, an idea no one likes.

So we have a bunch of unrentable buildings, some of which seem unlikely ever exist except as chances for more insurance and federal funds to be whittled away by various fees, a bad mall, and an expensive memorial. What about those cultural buildings? Well, no one is holding their breath, but some folks still want to talk about the process, and that all the energy spent in thinking about how culture at the site might still have a valid role.

On Monday, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council will gather Tom Bernstein (head of the Freedom Center, which was disinvited from the site recently (http://www.missrepresentation.com/archives/2005/09/bangladesh_the.html) by Pataki), Thelma Golden (Director and Chief Curator at The Studio Museum in Harlem), Hans Haacke (renegade artist turned developer courtesy his frenemy Giuliani), Mike Wallace (author of Gotham: A History of New York City), and Robert Yaro (voice of reason extraordinaire from the Regional Planning Association) at the New School to wrestle with these issues (http://www.lmcc.net/programs/2005.12.12zeroculture/index.html) (7:30pm at The Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, The New School for Insipid Branding, 55 West 13th Street).

[TonyO]

NY Observer

Larry Silverstein

Tragedy transformed a developer from a real-estate pisher into the man entrusted with the task of rebuilding the World Trade Center.

By: Matthew Schuerman
Date: 12/19/2005
Page: 15


At 70, developer Larry Silverstein watched his most important property, the iconic and world-famous World Trade Center—which he’d bought despite any amount of industry odds-making only weeks before—dissolve into cinders.

“My life was spared,” he said. “The lives of my children were spared. The lives of most of our employees were spared; we lost four. Those four had six children, so that was a very difficult experience—the very toughest part of the whole experience.”

Behind him, hanging on a wall of his spacious midtown office, was a large photograph of his yacht tearing across the ocean; below, the red taillights of cars on Fifth Avenue swept southward in the afternoon rush.

“I recognized, however, that I had signed a legal obligation that obligated me to pay $120 million year—escalating every five years—and that along with that obligation was the obligation to rebuild,” he said.

Developers tend to put things in terms of business, even when, as Chrysler or Rockefeller did, there is nobody to move into the buildings they propose, and no reason for those people to sit a hundred stories above the streets below. The greatest buildings of Manhattan arguably took shape out of developers’ dreams—of personal glory, of owning a share in the most magnificent skyline in the world—not from their business obligations.

The towers Larry Silverstein is now contracted to build are such buildings. Projections are still grim for his efforts to fill the millions of square feet of these buildings with businesses. But standing atop the first parcel of his project, the rebuilt 7 World Trade Center, and looking at the city below—and above, where the twin towers once stretched upward twice as high—it’s difficult to begrudge him this dream, or the rather gruff manner he affects when he tries to justify it.

Larry Silverstein is a short man who stoops his shoulders in such a way that it looks as if he has misplaced his neck. When he smiles, he smiles broadly, and his cheeks fold up like an accordion. He is an old-fashioned developer who walks briskly from the hip like a race walker. It’s easy to imagine that the posture was learned from a long life of managing small office buildings, presiding over men in dungarees slapping coats of fresh paint on them before reselling them for modest profits, and that it has carried him to the position he has found himself in today—as the most watched, and arguably the most important, real-estate developer in the city.

Before Sept. 11, Mr. Silverstein was just a bit player on the city’s real-estate stage, a gnat dancing around impatiently, watching much bigger players fail in their attempts to win the lease to the World Trade Center from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey—a deal that Mr. Silverstein closed just six weeks before the towers collapsed. Now, at 74, he has a $120-million-a-year headache, and just about everyone wants to help relieve him of it: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who envisions housing there; the victims’ families, some of whom want to turn the entire site into a memorial; and other developers, who would like a piece of the pie. The only people who offered him any money to get out, Mr. Silverstein said, weren’t the Port Authority, or the city, but the insurers, and he—almost out of spite—fought them to a very litigious end. Mr. Silverstein portrayed his tenacity in the most stoic of terms.

“It’s difficult to focus on anything else—it’s 24/7. I find myself waking up very often at 3, 3:30 in the morning and finding myself thinking about all that’s going on. When that happens, I find it’s difficult to go back to sleep.”

He added: “It’s just part of my life—I don’t see this changing for the foreseeable future. If that’s what it takes to get this done, then that’s what it takes.”

Mr. Silverstein is perhaps the only 74-year-old who exaggerates his age. “In May, I’ll be 75,” he said, “so I’m closer to 75 than to 74.” He was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and it’s fitting that this child of the Depression looks at his life less as a book that he’s writing than as a series of situations that he’s been thrown into the middle of and must find some way out of. While at New York University, he learned the business from his father, a small-time real-estate broker, and was determined to do better. He bought cheap buildings and tried to add value—most of the time, more than just that coat of paint—and then resold the properties for more, trading up until he was able to lease the two tallest buildings in the city.

“I had to go to Washington,” he said, recalling his lobbying efforts to get immunity from the lawsuits that were at one point expected from the families of people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. “I was still recovering from the accident I had, in which a drunk driver slammed into me on the 25th of January of ’01, when I was walking up 57th Street. He drove right through a red light, slammed into me, almost killed me—but somehow I’m still here. It was a miracle. Recovering from that, I was walking around on crutches, walking the floors of the House and the Senate. Those are stone floors; they are long and they are hard. And so I asked my wife to come with me, and we are walking—it was a bitch. We literally moved to Washington for about five weeks to lobby on a constant basis to get this legislation accomplished. As part of it, we were anthraxed—we were in the Dirksen Federal Building, and they said, ‘You have to take yourself to the hospital right away; you might be anthraxed.’ So I said, ‘Hey, what’s going on in our lives? What’s this about?’”

Mr. Silverstein had no comparable experience to prepare him for negotiating with Congress, or for waiting out the public deliberations in New York over the architect, or for battling, most recently, yet another attempt to reduce his holdings.

But so much of everything that’s happened to Mr. Silverstein in his 70’s has turned out—through his skill or his luck or both—to redound to his benefit. As a result of security concerns, it was his architect, David Childs, instead of Daniel Libeskind, who ended up designing the Freedom Tower. The $100 million that Mr. Silverstein spent on legal costs paid off with an anticipated $4.6 billion award from the insurers. Low-interest, government-issued Liberty Bonds will likely pay for some or all of the rest of the five towers on the site. If completed according to present plans, it will be the largest office complex to be built in New York without a tenant in mind since the original World Trade Center was finished in the early 1970’s.

“My wife said she married me for better or for worse, but not for lunch,” Mr. Silverstein said, having recourse to a favorite line. “I have no retirement capability under that circumstance. My attitude is, if you don’t use it, you lose it—and I will stay involved as long as I can, mentally and physically.”

He has three children, two of whom work for Silverstein Properties, and he intends that they will one day inherit the company and its 10 million square feet at Ground Zero—the small measure of immortality that is the real dream of all of New York’s big developers.

“If there’s anything here, it will be theirs to enjoy, not me,” he said. “I’m 75.”

[BPC]

Silverstein Properties will be announcing the architect for the next WTC tower after 7 WTC (the one at "200 Greenwich") tomorrow, Thursday, at 1:15 pm with the Governor.

[lofter1]

aha :)

[Strattonport]

If anyone is interested, PBS Channel 13 here in NYC is airing "Center of the World: World Trade Center" from 8 to 11 tonight.
(http://transitspot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2800)

[Jake]

If anyone is interested, PBS Channel 13 here in NYC is airing "Center of the World: World Trade Center" from 8 to 11 tonight.
(http://transitspot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2800)
Yeah, I own it on DVD IMO one of the best WTC documentaries.


Can't wait till tomorrow.....

Will he just announce the architect or the height as well? 1362' please! hehe

[NoyokA]

Foster, please.

[NoyokA]

Newsday:

NY governor sets deadline to redefine WTC developer's role
By AMY WESTFELDT
Associated Press Writer

December 14, 2005, 7:25 PM EST

NEW YORK -- Gov. George E. Pataki on Wednesday gave World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein and the site's owner three months to resolve questions about Silverstein's future at the site, and one official said that might include renegotiating the developer's lease to build office towers.

Pataki, splitting with city officials, also turned over $1.67 billion in tax-exempt government bonds that Silverstein wants to help build skyscrapers at the 16-acre lower Manhattan site. The city earlier this week put off a vote to turn over $3.35 billion in Liberty Bonds to Silverstein, but Pataki said he would allocate the state's half to the developer.

Pataki said there are "issues that still have to be resolved" between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, and Silverstein.

"We are saying get those all resolved in the next 90 days," Pataki said at an appearance on Long Island.

Silverstein signed a 99-year lease with the Port Authority two months before Sept. 11, 2001, and has paid more than $10 million a month in rent since then for the rights to rebuild all the office space that was destroyed.

Five office towers are planned. This spring, construction on the iconic Freedom Tower is scheduled to begin, and Silverstein planned to reveal a design Thursday for a second tower. A memorial, a museum and a transit hub also are being built on the site.

Politicians and rebuilding leaders have questioned Silverstein's plans for months, noting he has no tenants signed for any of his buildings and may not be able to move as quickly on the towers as other developers.

In October, Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the New York Daily News that "it would be in the city's interest to get Silverstein out" of the trade center project, and he suggested apartments and schools could be preferable to office space at ground zero.

Port Authority executive director Kenneth Ringler said Wednesday that the agency wanted to discuss all aspects of Silverstein's lease, including the 10 million square feet of office space and the number of towers he is rebuilding.

"This lease was written in a different time. A lot has happened since 9/11," Ringler said. "Our goal is to keep this project moving."

In recent weeks, agency officials have discussed letting Silverstein proceed with two office towers but taking back control of the others planned for the site.

Silverstein said he was grateful to Pataki for handing over the state's half of the Liberty Bonds. His project manager, Janno Lieber, said the developer wants to resolve issues with the Port Authority but remained "committed to the master plan" calling for five office towers.

Silverstein still wants the city to sign off on the other $1.67 billion in Liberty Bonds, the federal program created to help rebuild after Sept. 11.

Daniel Doctoroff, deputy mayor for economic development and rebuilding, said Wednesday the city still has concerns, including developer's fees Silverstein wants to charge and "not having a construction schedule that is strictly enforced."

[NoyokA]

If a design is to be released tomorrow the architect will most likely be none other than David Child's.

[BPC]

I don't think we are geting an actual design, just an architect and a construction timetable. The notice I received reads as follows:

"In addition to announcing the architect, Governor Pataki and Mr. Silverstein will unveil the timetable for the tower’s design as well as its construction, which will overlap with the construction schedule for the Freedom Tower."

[Jake]

In the other thread MrShakespeare attacked a graphic that says tower 2 is 65 stories. Seeing as the source is the Journal I assume they already know the details of what will be said tomorrow. So brace yourself for 65 stories.

[NoyokA]

In the other thread MrShakespeare attacked a graphic that says tower 2 is 65 stories. Seeing as the source is the Journal I assume they already know the details of what will be said tomorrow. So brace yourself for 65 stories.

Ive been braced for over a year now. 65 storeys has been in the site plan for atleast that amount of time.

[Jake]

what I mean is that IMO 65 was confirmed as the official number

[macreator]

I hope Childs isn't the architect of the second tower :(

Although I guess the only thing worse in my opinion would be Libeskind being the architect of the second tower. I know many people like him as an architect but I never found his World Trade Center designs to be very good.

[Jake]

Liebeskind: "I'll have my revenge now! muahahahhaahha" :D

If it's Childs do you guys think it will be a baby-FT or a new design altogether?

I hope those floors have some really high ceilings, hehe.

[NoyokA]

what I mean is that IMO 65 was confirmed as the official number

According to BPC's memo the building is yet to be designed. 65 storeys can't be confirmed since the building has yet to be designed, at this hour the building is still without an architect.

You're reffering to the graphic MrShakespeare posted, the graphic from the WSJ is simply an outline of the original site plan, nothing official about it, infact it already has changed. The siteplan lists the Freedom Tower as 69 storeys, it is 80 something... It lists storeys for tower 2,3,4,5, none of which have been designed, a design for tower five is almost a decade away as Deutche Bank is still standing and all.

[lofter1]

Any bets as to whether or not the "spiral" of buildings as described in Libeskind's Master Plan will be retained?

[JMGarcia]

The spiral will be retained IMO. We all know that developers generally want around 50 odd floors at 750 feet and they have the chance to get shorter with each sucessive building so I think they'll jump at keeping the spiral.

Be prepared for complaints about tower #2 at about 1000 feet being too tall next to the Freedom Tower.

[NoyokA]

I don't think a spiral is not necessarily a bad thing, I think its a logical site plan. Aesthetically it works, a wall of Freedom Towers wouldn't.

[BPC]

This annoucement tomorrow can't be much of a surprise. Didn't Silverstein announce at some point a year or two ago who the architects would be for towers 2-5, without stating the order? I seem to remember that Norman Foster was one of them. I cannot remember the others.

[Alonzo-ny]

According to BPC's memo the building is yet to be designed. 65 storeys can't be confirmed since the building has yet to be designed, at this hour the building is still without an architect.

You're reffering to the graphic MrShakespeare posted, the graphic from the WSJ is simply an outline of the original site plan, nothing official about it, infact it already has changed. The siteplan lists the Freedom Tower as 69 storeys, it is 80 something... It lists storeys for tower 2,3,4,5, none of which have been designed, a design for tower five is almost a decade away as Deutche Bank is still standing and all.

the site plan says how many office floors there are in each tower therfore it is correct that freedom tower has 69

[Ninjahedge]

aha :)


Take on me......

[MrShakespeare]

With the release of information today about Tower 2, presumably there will be a new thread.... Here is my plea that the new thread be called 2 World Trade Center.

...And the building, too.

:)

[NYatKNIGHT]

This annoucement tomorrow can't be much of a surprise. Didn't Silverstein announce at some point a year or two ago who the architects would be for towers 2-5, without stating the order? I seem to remember that Norman Foster was one of them. I cannot remember the others.

You're right. They were Norman Foster of London, Jean Nouvel of Paris, and Fumihiko Maki of Tokyo.

From an older thread: The Roster of Ground Zero Architects Grows (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4071)

[TonyO]

NY Daily News

Builder hints he'd sell part of WTC site

Ground Zero developer Larry Silverstein has signaled he might give up part of the World Trade Center site, if the price is right, sources said yesterday.
Silverstein, who holds the lease on the entire property, had hoped to get $3.35 billion in Liberty Bonds to put up four towers. But cash-flow problems could make it difficult to get the work done quickly enough to satisfy Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg.

Yesterday, Pataki said he favors giving Silverstein half of the bond money so he can get started on the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower and another office building at Ground Zero. The other bonds could go to developers who could start on the two remaining projects right away - if Silverstein parts with his development rights.

The state and the Port Authority, which owns the hallowed site, have recently begun to speak with Silverstein about buying back his leaseholder's right to put up two more towers on the Church St. side of the land, a top official revealed yesterday.

That potentially could clear the way for a proposal by Bloomberg to build some housing on the site.

Charles Gargano, vice chairman of the Port Authority and chairman of the Empire State Development Corp., said Silverstein "made it clear ... they would be willing to discuss" a deal to give up the two Church St. sites.

Gargano's comments to the Daily News followed a remark in The Wall Street Journal yesterday by Lloyd Goldman, Silverstein's partner in the World Trade Center lease. Asked about a possible reduced role for Silverstein, he told the paper, "If there is a deal that makes sense, we would evaluate and accept."

Although not mentioning the talks regarding Church St., Pataki told the Port Authority and Silverstein to iron out the building rights issue.


Paul D. Colford

[ZippyTheChimp]

I wonder if the media exchanges between Bloomberg and Silverstein is partially fueled by River Place II.

[TonyO]

Newsday

Silverstein sidesteps Ground Zero questions

BY DAN JANISON
STAFF WRITER

December 16, 2005

World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein Thursday sidestepped questions about whether he could be persuaded to cede control of some of the site's development projects.

Silvertein came to the site to announce that famed architect Norman Foster would design the second of five office towers planned for Ground Zero, to rise at 200 Greenwich St, designated in current plans as Tower Two. It would open in 2011.

Gov. George Pataki attended the announcement in Silverstein's new 7 World Trade Center -- where it was also revealed that the New York Academy of Sciences will occupy the 40th floor of the 52-story building.

With most of that structure still lacking tenants, however, Silverstein has been under pressure from public officials as to his future plans.

Pataki on Wednesday said Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey must resolve their range of differences over the next 90 days. He said the state would grant the developer $1.67 billion in Liberty Bond financing.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is seeking to put new conditions on the other $1.67 billion Silverstein is seeking. Bloomberg has discussed bringing in another developer with other plans.

Pressed on the matter Silverstein said: "We're going forward with the Port Authority to accomplish a complete resolution of everything that is open between us." But he added: "We expect ultimately to develop the entire site."

Silverstein, however, did not contradict a statement by his main financial partner Lloyd Goldman, who told the Wall Street Journal: "If there is a deal that makes sense, we would evaluate and accept."

Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff have been suggesting that a development fee sought by Silverstein Properties is excessive.

"We will only go for and expect what is the industry standard, including projects involving Liberty Bonds," Silverstein replied.

Separately, Pataki acknowledged Bloomberg's concerns on that count.

"There are always concerns," he said. "And that's one of the issues that has to be resolved in the 90 days between the Port Authority and Silverstein properties."

When asked about changing developers for part of the plan, such as building what are designated as Towers 3 and 4, Pataki said: "I am always open to considering whatever's going to work best to make sure we have the best possible future for the Word Trade Center site."

Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc.

[TonyO]

NY Daily News

Builder's last WTC plan?

BY PAUL D. COLFORD
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER


British architect Norman Foster (l.), developer Larry Silverstein (c.) and Gov. Pataki look at model of WTC site, including building Foster will design.

Cash-strapped Ground Zero developer Larry Silverstein trotted out plans yesterday for another office tower, but Gov. Pataki continued to push for other builders to help bring the Trade Center site back to life.
Pataki, who joined Silverstein high up in his new 7 World Trade Center office, suggested that another builder might take over two Church St. sites where Silverstein had planned buildings.

Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and the Port Authority, which leases the 16-acre site to Silverstein, all have shown interest in bringing in other developers to speed up the rebuilding process. "I am always open to considering whatever is going to work best to make sure that we have the best possible future for the World Trade Center site," Pataki said.

Pataki said Silverstein will get $1.67 billion in state-controlled Liberty Bonds with the understanding that he and the Port Authority settle their differences in the next 90 days.

The issues include the future of the two Church St. sites, Pataki added.

Yet when Silverstein faced reporters later, he said, "We expect ultimately to develop the entire site - everything."

City officials, who control another $1.67 billion in Liberty Bonds that Silverstein wants, have taken a hard line on the size of the developer's fees.

They also want to impose a timetable that could make it economically difficult for him to continue beyond the tower announced yesterday.

The 65-story building, at 200 Greenwich St., will be designed by renowned British architect Norman Foster.

Foster vied unsuccessfully to draw the master plan for the Trade Center site in 2003, proposing a 98-story tower as a centerpiece. The architect said yesterday he's "fired by the optimism, the hope and ... what this site is about, because it's really the city in microcosm. ... It's about energy, it's about drive, the future, regeneration, rebirth and continuous renewal."

Silverstein's 1,776-foot Freedom Tower will begin construction in the spring and be completed in 2011. Foster's building will get underway in 2007 and also be finished in 2011.

In other action, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. board approved a $59million deal to buy the 19,000-square-foot parcel next to the Deutsche Bank building. The tract was a parking lot until 9/11.

It will be part of the so-called "southern site," which will consist of a park, an office tower and a reconstructed St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

Originally published on December 16, 2005

[Alonzo-ny]

It be good to see them rising at the same time

[NYatKNIGHT]

Moved the previous posts which were only concerning Foster's Tower 2 to its new thread here (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8019).

[PHLguy]

the site plan says how many office floors there are in each tower therfore it is correct that freedom tower has 69



If you look at the cutaway it has 69 but there are 6 mechanical floors under it so technically the office floors would go up to 75.

[Strattonport]

From all the articles and images I've seen, there's no mention of 6WTC. Isn't that part of the site plan as well?

[ZippyTheChimp]

The site plan never had a 6th tower, although one was suggested by Silverstein, above the PATH station.

[macreator]

I don't remember ever seeing plans for a rebuilt 6 World Trade Center. 6 WTC was the Customs House, correct?

I guess we'll have a gap in our WTC naming.

[lofter1]

The way things are going down there 6WTC will be Debra Burlingame's private address :p

[lofter1]

Arts community reflects on cultural loss at the W.T.C.

By Ronda Kaysen
Downtown Express

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_136/artscommunityreflects.html


On a cold Monday night less than two weeks before Christmas and more than four years after the World Trade Center disaster, nearly 200 New Yorkers filled a lecture hall at the New School to hear a panel discuss culture at ground zero. Cultural programs might have been radically reduced in the redevelopment plans in recent months, but if Monday night’s turnout is any indication of the mood Downtown, the discussion about culture is far from over.

“Maybe this is the time that we ought to be thinking about what we really want down there,” said panelist Robert Yaro, president of Regional Plan Association, a metropolitan research and advocacy group that has taken an active role in post-9/11 rebuilding plans.

Culture at the W.T.C. site has been in flux since Governor George Pataki summarily removed the International Freedom Center, a museum planned for the site, from the redevelopment after a group of 9/11 families objected to a museum near the memorial. Pataki’s decision came on the heels of a similar dispute between family members and the Drawing Center, another museum planned near the memorial. The Drawing Center bowed out of the redevelopment last summer in face of mounting pressure.

The remaining cultural building, a performing arts center to be designed by Frank Gehry, is also in doubt, with no fundraising effort in place. The WTC Memorial Foundation, the non-profit in charge of raising money for the memorial and the cultural buildings, does not intend to begin raising funds for the performing arts center until after the memorial is fully funded. The arts center’s cost is also unknown.

With cultural programs effectively sidelined, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, a non-profit advocacy group, hosted “Zero Culture: What’s Happening to the Arts at Ground Zero?” on Monday night at the New School.

“It all sounded very good and then it all began to unravel,” said the panel’s moderator, Paul Goldberger dean of Parsons School of Design. “The political crisis leads us in a straight line to where we are tonight.”

Immediately after Pataki removed the I.F.C. from the site, the museum founders announced that they would dissolve their museum, which was created specifically for its location. At the panel, I.F.C. co-founder and chairperson Tom Bernstein insisted he had no plans to resurrect his creation elsewhere. The I.F.C. “was married to the spiritual memorial,” said Bernstein, who is also the co-founder of Chelsea Piers and a council member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. “To us that was a fairly easy decision to make.”

Panelists said a small group of 9/11 families was able to wrestle control of the six acres dedicated to the memorial and culture not because they represented public opinion, but because the public has had little opportunity to develop and voice an opinion one way or the other.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency responsible for the rebuilding, “made it impossible for the cultural institutions to describe what they were planning,” said Yaro. “We never had that conversation and it meant that we had a vacuum and that vacuum was filled by one point of view.”

Local residents have long voiced their frustration with the lack of a public dialog. At a recent Community Board 1 meeting, board members criticized Memorial Foundation president Gretchen Dykstra for the foundation’s lack of commitment to culture at the site.

“We are very distressed about what appears to be a lack of commitment to the arts,” said C.B. 1 chairperson Julie Menin at a Dec. 7 public meeting, adding, “We’d like to see that the residential community is heard.”

In a presentation to board members, Dykstra played a short film beginning with the attacks on the W.T.C. and ending with interviews of visitors to the site from around the world. Visitors from Ohio, Florida, Japan and Germany commented on the disaster and the need for a memorial. None of the visitors interviewed lived or worked in the surrounding area and none spoke about the densely populated neighborhood that co-exists around the 16 acres.

Unlike other memorials in the United States, which are often outside population centers, the W.T.C memorial, Reflecting Absence, will be built in the heart of the nation’s fourth largest business district and a large residential neighborhood. Residents worry they will be cut off from the new W.T.C., which used to be their shopping center, and that the visitors lining up to see the memorial will overwhelm the site.

"This is a place where people are going to go to work, this is a place where people are going to go to school, it’s not only a memorial,” said Studio Museum director and chief curator Thelma Golden at the Dec. 12 panel.

Currently, the foundation is focused on raising $500 million to build the Michael Arad-designed memorial, which the L.M.D.C. board estimates will cost $330 million. The memorial museum is expected to cost another $160 million. Only after the memorial is securely funded will the foundation consider raising money for the performing arts center, the last remaining cultural center on the site.

The foundation sees the memorial as the centerpiece of the rebuilding effort, which has been criticized for its slow pace. “I don’t think anything is going to get built if we don’t build the memorial,” said Dykstra. Once the memorial is built, “everything else will fall into place.”

But the memorial is a source of intense conflict, and Reflecting Absence, with its list of names and cascading waterfalls, has not been met with much enthusiasm from critics, family members and the public at large.

Likening the redevelopment to Downtown Hartford, Conn., Yaro said, “Shopping malls and office parks don’t co-exist really well with sacred places. Cultural institutions create a buffer between the sacred and the profane.”

The Snohetta-designed cultural building was intended to serve as that buffer – separating the shopping mall from the memorial. But now, visitors ascending up from subterranean level of the memorial will be met immediately by a shopping center, a concern some family members are now beginning to voice.

Although the governor aligned himself with the families in the battle over the memorial, the mayor has taken a different stance. During his election campaign, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he intended to play a more active role in the redevelopment. As other politicians distanced themselves from the I.F.C., Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff voiced support for the embattled museum.

“The mayor has differing views, which he has been increasingly willing to articulate,” said Goldberger. “I have a certain amount of confidence in his increasing willingness to take an assertive role.”

In an interview with Downtown Express at City Hall on Monday, Bloomberg did assert some support for culture at the W.T.C., albeit haltingly. “There’s nobody willing to stand up for the arts more than I am, but I will say there is something different about this piece of property,” he said, adding, “Different standards may very well apply on that site.”

During the question-and-answer period, Diane Horning, whose 26-year-old son Matthew died in the Trade Center, insisted that many family members supported the decision to remove the I.F.C. With the cultural institutions gone from the site, more space is now available for the story of 9/11, she said. “There are cultural objects and entities that are reflective and there will be more,” she said, mentioning poetry, collages, quilts and handmade tiles that do not currently have a place at the memorial. “Please do not think that we hate culture, that we hate art.”

But there is no reason to think that more exhibition space exists to commemorate 9/11 now that the I.F.C. and Drawing Center are gone.
Snohetta, the Norwegian architecture firm that designed the cultural building, has been sent back to the drawing board to design a smaller version of the low-rise structure.

Dykstra indicated she sees little future for the building in its current incarnation. “Everybody thinks that there can be a richness to the memorial quadrant, but I don’t think it’s going to be the Snohetta building,” she said at the C.B. 1 meeting, adding, “It’s just too expensive and the foundation is not going to fund that.”

Instead, Dykstra would like to see whatever is built on that location be used for a visitors center with a ticket booth and bathrooms for memorial-bound visitors. The idea of building another cultural building “is not a good idea.”

At this point, the memorial is the only sure culture at the site. Although it includes a museum, the content will be dedicated to Sept. 11, which makes critics wary. “If we have narrow institutions that are only dealing with Sept. 11, I don’t that that will stand the test of time,” said Bernstein. “It’s not engaging.”


Downtown Express is published by Community Media LLC

[lofter1]

Bloomberg zeroes in on Downtown rebuilding, arts and living

By Josh Rogers
Downtown Express

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_136/bloombergzeroesinon.html


Mayor Mike Bloomberg is still happy living in his Upper East Side townhouse but the project that could tempt him to try Downtown living is the $50-million, box-shaped condos architect Santiago Calatrava is designing at the Seaport.

“If the Calatrava building is built — a magnificent piece of architecture — I’m not going to move Downtown, but boy you think about it,” Bloomberg told Downtown Express. “It would be spectacular.”

The mayor sat down Monday in his City Hall “Bullpen” office for an exclusive, 40-minute interview with the editors of Community Media L.L.C., owner of Downtown Express, The Villager and Gay City News.

Bloomberg minimized his differences in recent weeks with World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein and Gov. George Pataki, said the sensitivities from some 9/11 families and others about cultural institutions next to the proposed memorial should be extended to the entire W.T.C. site, and indicated that the developer will likely have an easier time finding tenants for Tower 2 than he will for the first office building where construction is expected to begin, the Freedom Tower.

“Larry thinks he’s close to renting a big chunk of number 7,” Bloomberg said referring to 7 W.T.C. across the street from ground zero, “and maybe even a tenant for all of number 2, which he is yet to build. Nobody hopes he does it more than I do…. He’s asked for incentives from the state and city — we’ve given him those, now he’s got to rent it.”

A few hours earlier, Bloomberg and Silverstein agreed to delay a city vote on the $3.35 billion in tax-free Liberty Bonds the developer wants in order to build five offices at the W.T.C.

The mayor did not refer directly to any problems Silverstein may have finding tenants to rent space in the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, where work is scheduled to start in April, but real estate executives and business leaders are worried that a high-profile building on West St., a block away from the W.T.C. train station under construction will be a harder sell than Tower 2, adjacent to the station.

“The conventional wisdom is that the towers on Church St. will be more easily rentable than the Freedom Tower,” said Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a group made up of C.E.O.’s from the city’s largest firms. She said these buildings will have fewer security concerns.

Wylde agrees with the mayor’s push to insure the W.T.C. buildings are built simultaneously to avoid extended construction disruptions, and with his call to reconsider other uses besides offices. “Now that the Goldman Sachs deal is done, there’s much more flexibility on the use of the site,” she said referring to the investment bank’s project building its new headquarters catty-corner to the site.

The mayor said he’s not convinced 10 million square feet of office space is needed at the site. “I also have cautioned that we should take a look at the marketplace and see what the marketplace wants,” Bloomberg said. “We can’t just say ‘I know that we need this.’”

He has spoken of the need to consider housing or a hotel at ground zero. The mayor said the reason he appointed Bill Rudin, president of Rudin Management, a real estate firm, and Lawrence Babbio, president of Verizon, to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board is because they know what the market needs.

Rudin, who also heads the Association for a Better New York, said in a telephone interview that he doesn’t think housing is needed at the site since there is plenty of residential construction in Lower Manhattan. “That 24/7 is already happening,” he said.

He said he thought large brokerage houses will be attracted to Tower 2 because they will be able to get a custom-made building with large floors. “The Freedom Tower is already designed — the floor plates are locked in,” Rudin said.

Silverstein and his architect, David Childs, began talking about building the site’s iconic tower closer to Church St., well before Daniel Libeskind’s site plan was selected by Pataki and Bloomberg in 2003. When Childs and Libeskind battled over the Freedom Tower’s design and location, Pataki sided mostly with Childs on the design and with Libeskind on placement.

Dara McQuillan, spokesperson for Silverstein Properties, said there has already been tenant interest for Tower 2, where construction is at least a year away from beginning, but he said that is also true at the Freedom Tower, where “surprisingly,” companies are most interested in renting out the building’s highest floors. Silverstein is planning to name the architect for Tower 2 Thursday.

On the Liberty Bonds, Janno Lieber, Silverstein’s senior vice president, said that the firm needs a commitment for all of the remaining bonds now to meet the mayor’s goal of constructing all of the buildings as quickly as possible. “Financing certainty on this entire project is going to expedite this entire project,” he said last week before the vote was delayed.

The developer released a statement Monday saying he was “disappointed” but remained “optimistic that we, the city and the state will come to resolution in the near future.”

Gov. Pataki has maintained that the Liberty Bonds should be used at the W.T.C., a pledge the mayor has not made.

There is far from consensus Downtown as to whether it makes sense to commit all of the tax-free bonds to Silverstein now.

John Dellaportas, a Battery Park City resident who led the neighborhood fight to prevent a tunnel from being built near the W.T.C., said he wants to see building construction begin quickly and he’d like the mayor to get out of Silverstein’s way. “We are still left with a giant hole in the ground and none of the Liberty Bond money has been spent on the World Trade Center site proper,” he said.

But Community Board 1 has taken a more cautious approach to the bonds, endorsing much of the Bloomberg administration’s position that Silverstein must demonstrate a commitment to begin building as soon as W.T.C. sites are ready and that the city and state be empowered to call back the bonds if there are delays.

Bloomberg said “Liberty Bonds are government money, people’s money, and we should look to see what’s the best use of the people’s money. They are not owned by any one person nor should we preclude any one person.”

W.T.C. Culture and the Memorial

When 9/11 family groups led the successful fight in the fall to get two museums bounced from the area near the memorial, Bloomberg criticized the governor for superseding the L.M.D.C., a federally-funded state-city authority. But on Monday, the mayor said the same sensitivities that led to International Freedom Center and Drawing Center leaving the memorial quadrant should apply to the entire site.

“This is clearly not your average piece of property and different standards may very well apply on that site,” the mayor said, citing other exceptions to free speech such as jokingly shouting fire in a theater or prohibitions about what you can say in a courtroom.

He said curators could work on programming with people who understand the site’s importance. In response to whether government or an individual arts group could set this up, he said: “That’s to be worked out. There’s no easy answer to this. You want to have freedom of expression. There’s nobody willing to stand up for the arts more than I am, but I will say there is something different about this piece of property.”

When told of his remarks, Charles Wolf, whose wife died at the W.T.C., and Julie Menin, chairperson of C.B. 1, predictably, had opposite reactions.

“I think he’s pretty much hit it on the mark,” said Wolf, who has had concerns about the mayor’s views. He does not think an arts organization will be able to set up its own board to maintain the proper sensitivity. “You’re going to have to have somebody outside the organization set a standard.”

Menin, a new member of the WTC Memorial Foundation, which intends to raise money for the site’s memorial and cultural buildings, said “you are putting arts organizations in a difficult position if they are censored. You have to respect these organizations enough to know they are going to do what’s best.”

Costs for the memorial and related buildings are getting close to $1 billion, but Bloomberg said even if it doubles to $2 billion he won’t back away.

“It will cost a lot of money but that’s what the commission [the memorial jury] recommended….You can’t walk away from democracy because you don’t like the outcome,” he said.

But the Reflecting Absence memorial design by Michael Arad and Peter Walker is an outcome he likes. “Of the final designs I thought the Arad one was the best,” he said. “I liked the design. I thought it was very moving and beautiful.”

Fulton Fish Market

The mayor raved about the Calatrava building in response to a question about what he hopes to see replace the Fulton Fish Market, which moved to the Bronx last month. Bloomberg did not say what should replace the market, but was clear about what led to the failures of Seaport Marketplace, which General Growth Properties bought from Rouse Corp. last year. General Growth has the right to expand into the fishmongers’ area.

“Everybody thought that South Street Seaport would be the same as Faneuil Hall or Harbor Place in Baltimore — it is not and the reason is, New York has throughout all five boroughs all of these stores, all of the excitement, the entertainment and everything. Having one area of just trendy stuff doesn’t sell in New York because there is no need.”

Michael Piazzola, the Seaport mall’s senior general manager, said the mayor is right in a sense. “Every retailer in the world has discovered Manhattan. He’s right in saying the South Street Seaport has a lot of competition….The rest of Manhattan has caught up to the Seaport.”

Piazzola, who also ran the mall for Rouse, said General Growth is working on a master plan for the fish market area and is considering many different uses. The retail will be geared more toward residents and office workers while still appealing to tourists, rather than the other way around, he added.

Developer Frank Sciame, who is working with Calatrava on the cantilevered, box condos planned for 80 South St., was happy to hear about more neighborhood stores and even happier to get the mayor’s public endorsement for the condos priced between $29 million and $59 million.

“He’s been very supportive of the building,” said Sciame, who is hoping to land buyers before construction begins. “It’s a matter of time. What Park Ave. and Fifth Ave. were to the city in the 20th century, Lower Manhattan is going to be in the 21st century.”


[I]Downtown Express is published by Community Media LLC

[NYguy]

A look at what a rebuilt WTC could look like. Only the Freedom Tower
is close to what it will actually look like, but its a general idea...


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/53909776/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/53909778/medium.jpg__http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/53909814/medium.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/53909844/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/53909847/medium.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/53909847/large.jpg

[wns808]

hey guys, I'm new to to the forum and I was reading on the current WTC developments. Although I'm from Metro Detroit, MI, I've been following up on the activity at the WTC site since 9/11/01. I was wondering, why Silverstien is so pig-headed not to rebuild the WTC site as it once was? I remember him saying in an interview just after the attacks, that the whole WTC site was going to be rebuilt the way it was, why did he back down from that? Also, if he kept his word on rebuilding the twin towers as they were, where would the construction be at this point?

[BPC]

Silverstein never promised to "rebuild the towers as they were." He promised to replace all of the lost office space. There is a difference. He still wishes to do so. He cannot do that "all at once" because the Port Authority has to prepare the site for construction first.

[BPC]

If Fred Bell has said one intelligent thing about the WTC Site, I have yet to read it.

At 9/11 Site, No Guidelines? No Problem. Design Away.

By DAVID W. DUNLAP
Published: December 29, 2005

HOW many commercial buildings will be designed at the World Trade Center site before the official World Trade Center Commercial Design Guidelines are issued?

These guidelines, intended to give three-dimensional form to Daniel Libeskind's master plan, have been circulating in draft form for more than two years.

In that time, the Freedom Tower has been designed and redesigned, partly following the draft guidelines and partly ignoring them. The transportation hub has been designed in a form quite unlike that contemplated in the 2003 draft. Ditto, the memorial. Ditto, the cultural building.

Now, the architect Norman Foster - whose stock in trade is eye-popping individuality and who once promoted his own soaring vision for a new World Trade Center - has been chosen by Larry A. Silverstein to design the second largest office tower on the site, 200 Greenwich Street, a 65-story, 2.4 million-square-foot building.

And there are still no guidelines.

"Without design guidelines specifying building heights, setbacks from the property line, curbing and paving materials - along with myriad other details - Libeskind's site plan is but a poetic invocation to do the right thing," said Fredric M. Bell, the executive director of the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

"The unconscionable absence of design guidelines indicates a breakdown of law," Mr. Bell added, "a literal lawlessness that brings forward a free-for-all of design indulgence where the fastest draw guns down the need for each part to relate to the whole."

There will be guidelines soon, said Stefan Pryor, the president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is working on them with Silverstein Properties, New York City and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He said some delay involved reconciling the guidelines with the redesign of the Freedom Tower and the cultural building.

"Speculation and protestation notwithstanding, the design guidelines will be enacted," Mr. Pryor said. "They are required by regulatory documents. They will be implemented. And they will be followed." He said Lord Foster's 200 Greenwich Street project "will be reviewed in accordance" with the guidelines.

Mr. Libeskind said the rules were flexible and that Lord Foster "has worked within guidelines before."

A key premise of Mr. Libeskind's plan is that office towers will ring the memorial like a "three-dimensional spiral," descending in height from the Freedom Tower, or Tower 1, to the southernmost building off Liberty Street, Tower 5. (In this array, 200 Greenwich Street is Tower 2.)

Originally, Mr. Libeskind wanted every rooftop to slope toward the memorial. In the October 2003 draft of the guidelines, he even proposed a formula with precise ratios to ensure "increasingly canted profiles."

By February 2004, that exacting formula had been replaced with this injunction: "Each roof should inflect toward the memorial and the slopes should increase beginning with Tower 5's roof as the shallowest and Tower 1's as the greatest."

A November 2004 development agreement softened the idea further. "Each tower top should acknowledge the memorial in a meaningful and appropriate way," the revision stated. "For example, each roof could inflect toward the memorial and the slopes could decrease, beginning with Tower 1's roof as the greatest slope." Since then, the Freedom Tower has lost its sloping roof altogether.

At a news conference concerning 200 Greenwich Street on Dec. 15, Mr. Silverstein was asked whether the building would follow the design guidelines. He replied that it would follow the master site plan; a different document that lays out building locations and footprints. And he added, "Rooftops are not part of a master site plan."

Lord Foster was then asked what he thought of Mr. Libeskind's whole spiral and sloping-roof idea.

He answered indirectly. "A master plan in the end is a combination of public space, of defining streets, an element of landscaping, a mixture of uses," Lord Foster said. "And really, the essence of New York, more than any city I know - its dynamic - is the ability to respond to change. And that is the only constant. And so, over time, we're seeing those changes on this site. We're seeing it in the many different proposals which have come together for the site. So it's impossible to speculate into the future."

THESE remarks do not sound exactly like ironclad commitments to follow the current guidelines.

But the director of trade center projects for Silverstein Properties, Janno Lieber, said Mr. Silverstein embraces controls on the site, including "sustainable design" rules to limit construction noise and pollution, reduce energy and water use, improve air quality, increase daylight and recycle materials.

He said Silverstein Properties had an interest in ensuring that public areas and retail spaces were built to high standards. Though there are some details to be worked out on the design guidelines, Mr. Lieber said, "It's done, from our standpoint, and we're prepared to live with it."

[lofter1]

One of the strengths of Libeskind's Master Plan, the Spiral of Ascending Buildings around the site, seems to be dying a slow death ...

A key premise of Mr. Libeskind's plan is that office towers will ring the memorial like a "three-dimensional spiral," descending in height from the Freedom Tower, or Tower 1, to the southernmost building off Liberty Street, Tower 5. (In this array, 200 Greenwich Street is Tower 2.)

...At a news conference concerning 200 Greenwich Street on Dec. 15, Mr. Silverstein was asked whether the building would follow the design guidelines. He replied that it would follow the master site plan; a different document that lays out building locations and footprints. And he added, "Rooftops are not part of a master site plan."

Lord Foster was then asked what he thought of Mr. Libeskind's whole spiral and sloping-roof idea.

He answered indirectly. "A master plan in the end is a combination of public space, of defining streets, an element of landscaping, a mixture of uses," Lord Foster said. "And really, the essence of New York, more than any city I know - its dynamic - is the ability to respond to change. And that is the only constant. And so, over time, we're seeing those changes on this site. We're seeing it in the many different proposals which have come together for the site. So it's impossible to speculate into the future."

THESE remarks do not sound exactly like ironclad commitments to follow the current guidelines.

[Nordica]

This reminds me of the exchange we had on pgs 138-139 of this thread about whether there actually was a master plan and was it worth anything. Ablarc said there was one but it wasn't a very good one, but they all get obsolete quickly anyway.

Libeskind had a contract for $5 million. I don't know if he collected all that or if that's commiserate for the job. If all they're keeping is a loose version of the site plan, they had nearly the same thing from Beyer Blinder Belle early on.

I just read that a senate committee is wondering how 85% of the cash grants to busnesses affected by 9/11 got passed out erroneously. When all's said and done maybe that stat will hold up throughout.

[NYguy]

One of the strengths of Libeskind's Master Plan, the Spiral of Ascending Buildings around the site, seems to be dying a slow death ...


Its amazing how anyone can come to that conclusion.

There's only 1 building design that we know of (the Freedom Tower), and Tower 2 is to be designed shorter than the Freedom Tower. Towers 3 and 4 have yet to be designed, but will likely rise lower than Tower 2, keeping the ascension in place.

Libeskind's site plan wasn't intended to be the basis of the architecture there, and the LMDC loosened some restrictions Libeskind tried to place on the new buildings in his backdoor attempt to be the "architect" of ground zero. Will there be some standards? Yes. There won't be new Twin Towers, for example. But don't expect the towers to look like anything Libeskind has designed unless Libeskind himself designs it.

[BrooklynRider]

The great fanfare surround the "master plan competition", "memorial competition", public input periods, and FT design, seemed more geared toward portraying the city as resilient New Yorkers bouncing back. We seem to be moving rather firmly (to my surprise and pleasure) to putting the blinders back on and building. In the end, as many have said, that big hole in the ground is a part of a neighborhood. Time to circle the wagons against outside intervention and let it rise again.

The status of Liberty Bonds and their distribution seemed to be the last vestige of real ability the governments had to address development. The train Station is really the only truly public space paid for by public funds. Now, we have Silverstein's insurance payout driving commercial construction. We can only hope he sets his architectural standards ever-higher as well as his building heights.

Whatever the dismayed private sector wants to contribute toward a balleyhooed memorial that we now know will be non-operational due to lousy design during winter months, is anyone's guess. The public, IMO, has lost its taste for it. FT is the memorial, not the two giant flood drains. I think the fervent demands and attempts at grabbing the WTC site by the "9/11 Families" has finally seen the public turn a corner on the Memorial. And, that corner does not turn toward the project, but away from it.

[ZippyTheChimp]

There were voices in the months following 09/11 that said it was too early to contemplate a memorial, but they were drowned out by the deluge of patriotic excess.

The design competition tried to emulate the successful competition to design the Vietnam War Memorial, but that competition was begun years after the war ended, and almost two decades after U.S. involvement. By 1979, there was a general consensus of opinion about the impact on American society. The resulting memorial is focused and relevant.

A substantial amount of space should have been set aside for a future memorial, but not both footprints and almost the entire bathtub - a foolish decision made by a politician during an emotional time. It was made without proper consideration of the logistic problems that have since plagued the site.

The site would may have looked the same today, but it would not be burdened by an ill-conceived memorial, where there is no political will to stop and start over, even though that is exactly the correct thing to do.

Bring on the PATH/offices/retail.

Ride trains/work/shop - it's what most New Yorkers do every day.

[BPC]

The memorial can yet be saved. Just fill in the two giant holes, remove all the restrictions against normal city life -- rollerblades, frisbees, dogs, etc. -- and turn it into a park. It will be an oversized, misplaced park, but a park nontheless, as opposed to the disfunctional tourist mecca currently being planned for the site. A piece of the grid from the old tower can be placed in the middle of the park, or perhaps the "footprints" can be outlined in brick or stone along the ground, but that's it. As for the "families," they can take their underground chamber, raise private funds, and do whatever they want with the space. I don't care. This is the way out of the hole.

[BPC]

Oh, and lots of benches and chairs for people to sit -- just like Bryant Park. This site is encircled by large office buildings. Office workers deserve a nice place to sit outdoors and have their lunch.

[TonyO]

December 31, 2005

At Ground Zero, A Grand Vision in Retreat

Talking Points
By ELEANOR RANDOLPH and VERLYN KLINKENBORG

Every day, thousands of people come to visit the void in Lower Manhattan, the place where nearly 3,000 people from more than 60 nations died on Sept. 11, 2001. The visitors arrive from around the world to pay their respects and glimpse what remains of the twin towers, those monuments to global trade that dominated downtown Manhattan for over 30 years.

Now, more than four years after 9/11, the 16-acre site where the World Trade Center once stood looks like a raw unformed place where construction has barely begun. Those who are involved in the rebuilding see the site change each day, and some organizations, like Project Rebirth, are documenting the slow movement forward. These insiders insist that progress is steady, if difficult for most of us to recognize, and that the workaday underpinnings of the buildings that will someday rise there are being constructed on schedule.

Politicians and planners have often said that there has never been a redevelopment project like the one at ground zero. Perhaps that is so, but the forces that threaten to interfere with it are all too familiar. They include the narrow concerns of politicians, the steady push and pull of those with a financial stake, and a jumble of special interests all promoting their own private causes. Worst of all - and the thing that makes all these other tensions possible - is a growing public complacency, despite the steady flood of visitors to the site. Those forces make ground zero look more and more like a grand but empty public promise.

As recently as two years ago, there was a quiet enthusiasm about the renewal of Lower Manhattan. Artists and architects around the world began to think about the possibilities for a memorial to those who lost their lives on 9/11, and how to create a revival of downtown, a way of celebrating, through great architecture and imaginative planning, the spirit of this insane city. The challenge brought many of the world's best architects into that creative mix brewing in Lower Manhattan, including Daniel Libeskind, David Childs, Santiago Calatrava, Frank Gehry, and Norman Foster. These established figures mingled with an army of young people peddling a rich variety of ideas. They all talked about how to build something so magnificent and extraordinary that New York City and only New York City could have done it.

Now the hard realities have flattened most of those early hopes. The political forces have taken their toll. Anxieties about security and economics are chipping away at the designs. The engineers and architects are offering alternatives that are less grand, more practical, and almost devoid of the optimistic potential that drove the first re-imaginings of the World Trade Center site.

The steady retreat from the original, heady vision has been disheartening, to say the least.

Daniel Libeskind's highly acclaimed master plan, which won the design competition in 2003, has been so nibbled and so tailored to the latest political or financial whim, that it is barely visible, despite Mr. Libeskind's that the plan is evolving not disappearing. The latest design for the poorly named Freedom Tower, which was supposed to impose an iconic imprint on the skyline the way the twin towers once did, looks all too much like any other tall building in Shanghai or Singapore. The 9/11 Memorial, the promised centerpiece of the rebuilding effort, is having severe money troubles and losing some of its most striking design features to unnecessary compromises. When Gov. George Pataki hastily banned of the International Freedom Center, he also jeopardized the cultural complex planned for the center, designed by Snohetta, the prestigious Norwegian architectural firm. Plans for a separate performing arts center, which is to be housed in a building designed by Frank Gehry are more promise than paper. The city's powerful cultural and artistic community is increasingly - and rightly - seething about the vanishing promise of creative excellence.

In short, there are a lot of moving parts in Lower Manhattan, but no enlightened hand is pulling them all into one cohesive plan worthy of this site and its city.

I. First, the Good News

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the ground zero site, is a government agency full of builders and engineers, people who focus on steel and cement standards and water purity. When designers, politicians and artists talked about reclaiming the World Trade Center site, most of them assumed the Port Authority would be the drag on inspiration and creativity.

That isn't how it has worked out. In August 2003, the Port Authority chose Santiago Calatrava to design the transportation hub on the site. Mr. Calatrava was a stunning choice, and not merely because he was known - in the words of Herbert Muschamp of The Times - as "the world's greatest living poet of transportation architecture." By picking the famous Spanish architect, the Port Authority made the important point that its builders and engineers had lofty aspirations, too, and that if put to the test they could rebuild this site themselves. Now, even with adaptations for security and cost, the Calatrava center is going ahead smartly on schedule.

II. The Freedom Tower: An Iconic Disappointment

Ever since the twin towers fell, there has been an emotional and political urge to reclaim their place in the skyline. The solution was to be one soaring tower which Governor Pataki insisted on calling the "Freedom Tower." It is a label that threatens to be less descriptive with each change in the tower's design. In the past four years, that building, the focal point of re-imagining ground zero, has morphed from:

1) a sleek sketch by Mr. Libeskind to

2) an intriguing creation born of the tortured Libeskind-Childs collaboration to

3) the sturdy skyscraper recently designed by Mr. Childs on very short notice to satisfy the security concerns of the New York City Police Department. (Complete Coverage: Threats and Responses)

Today the promoters of Mr. Pataki's Freedom Tower - especially Larry Silverstein, the 74-year-old real estate mogul who signed a lease on the twin towers shortly before Sept. 11 - insist that it will be the safest skyscraper in the world.

Safety is certainly crucial, but Mr. Childs's attempt to embody security and celebrate freedom achieves neither. As the design now stands, the tower would rise from an 18- to 20-story reinforced cement battlement that would render it more fortress than office building. Paul Goldberger, the dean of Parsons School of Design and author of the book, "Up From Zero," gives voice to a growing concern about the tower, especially among those who might have to work in it or live nearby. "What you have now," Mr. Goldberger insists, "is a fairly ordinary commercial building on top of a 20-story bunker."

The problem is not just design; it is also timing and cost. Mr. Pataki had the cornerstone of the building dramatically set in place in July 2004, just in time for the Republican convention. Now he wants to break ground on this tower in the spring - this time coinciding, it appears, with his budding campaign for president. We have, in the past, admired Mr. Pataki's diligence about meeting his deadlines, but this schedule feels rushed. The public is only now beginning to recognize that a cement bunker named for freedom makes little sense even if it has a chamfered glass tower on top.

Tying the Freedom Tower's construction schedule to presidential campaign politics does not serve ground zero well. It might even hurt Mr. Pataki in the long run, since he is investing a great deal of his legacy as governor in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan. The last thing Mr. Pataki should want is to be responsible for the construction of a "see-through" tower - real estate talk for big buildings that cannot attract tenants - or a tower that is merely tall rather than magnificent or, worst of all, one that projects fear more than freedom.

Given all the insurance and other money that poured in after 9/11, cost should not be an obstacle to building a world-class tower at ground zero. But cost seems to be having a significant impact. With the right details and the right materials, Mr. Childs's design for the Freedom Tower could be acceptable, if not inspiring. But there is every reason to suspect that Mr. Silverstein, the developer, is chipping away at those details one by one. Mr. Silverstein, who is owed more than $4 billion in insurance claims, has repeatedly said that money is not what matters at ground zero. We respectfully have our doubts.

III. Building a Suitable Memorial

The design for the memorial at ground zero was selected after an international competition, which was judged by a panel that included Vietnam Memorial designer Maya Lin. The winning entry, "Reflecting Absence," by Michael Arad and Peter Walker is a simple, abstract design that would create a powerful center for the site - if something close to the original is ever completed.

The Arad-Walker design, which features large voids that will allow visitors to descend into the footprints of the twin towers, will be expensive to construct and maintain. One early estimate puts the final price tag at half a billion dollars. With no powerful champion, the memorial keeps getting pinched and minimized by everybody else who has a voice in the rebuilding of the site. Mr. Pataki promised that the memorial would be the centerpiece of the rebuilding effort, but so far, frankly, he has not protected the design vigorously enough.

And he has shown himself a more enthusiastic fundraiser for Republican candidates, including himself, than for the memorial to those who died on 9/11.

The memorial fundraising has barely passed the $100 million mark. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation recently decided it needed to pitch in, contributing another $200 million to the fund, but that still leaves a shortfall of about $200 million - not a small amount at a time when there are so many other charitable causes competing for dollars.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a veteran donor himself, has promised to devote more effort to Lower Manhattan. One way he could help would be to collar other wealthy contributors to help finance the project. As for Mr. Pataki, if he wants to use his final year in office more judiciously when it comes to rebuilding downtown, he should work harder to raise the funds to get this memorial built.

IV. Up With Culture

The idea behind the redevelopment of ground zero has always been to bring the full range of city life back into Lower Manhattan, to surround the area with shops and restaurants and apartments and commercial space. At the center of that new vitality there should be at least one cultural anchor, somewhere on the site itself. But the idea of a bold cultural presence in Lower Manhattan has steadily withered, largely because of political cowardice and a parochial idea of what the arts are for.

The cultural center at ground zero was supposed to be housed in the shimmering building designed by Snohetta. But the problem now is figuring out what kind of cultural expression belongs in that building, if it's ever built. First, the Drawing Center - the nation's only non-profit center dedicated to drawing - was essentially booted off the site. Then Mr. Pataki nixed the other tenant, the International Freedom Center, fearing that it had the potential too deliver too much freedom, particularly freedom of speech.

With those organizations gone it is not clear what purpose the Snohetta complex will serve. Like the idea of culture at ground zero, the complex has been shrinking steadily. It might easily become a mere entrance hall to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, or disappear altogether, like the Freedom Center.

In the meantime, plans for a performing arts compound designed by Frank Gehry are looking very tentative since it's not clear where the money will come from to build it. Nor is it clear that the politicians will actually defend the Gehry plan, since they capitulated so quickly under pressure from those 9/11 families who opposed the Freedom Center. The LMDC has put up $50 million so far to help prepare and preserve the site for Mr. Gehry's building and to pay for some of his signature designs. But that $50 million will be meaningless unless the plan for a performing arts center gets vocal support from politicians, the creative community and the public.

It's easy to imagine the emotional power of the memorial and the 9/11 Memorial Museum, and the site itself will certainly continue to draw many thousands of visitors, as it does now. But these things by themselves cannot regenerate a lost community in downtown Manhattan. Nor can the creation of retail and commercial space do it alone. It will take a genuine cultural presence - a place for the arts - to bring the neighborhood back to life.

The promise of culture at ground zero was in many ways the boldest part of the master plan for the site. It took courage to propose it, and it would have taken courage to sustain it. Instead, we have watched that courage drain away over the past year. Mr. Bloomberg, long a supporter of culture in New York City, could also make certain that the arts remain a strong presence downtown.

V. Who Deserves to Control Ground Zero?

When things are going badly downtown, a common solution is to distract the public and the media by trotting out another famous architect. Recently, Mr. Silverstein threw together a press conference on the unfinished 25th floor of his new building at 7 World Trade Center, just north of the site. He announced that Norman Foster would be the architect for the second office tower on the World Trade Center site. The building would be, Mr. Silverstein promised, "a new crown jewel."

This press conference felt more like theater than civic planning. The second office tower, if it is ever built, won't open until 2011, so Mr. Foster was more than warranted when he said he didn't yet have a firm idea of what it would look like. No matter. Mr. Foster and his sterling reputation looked less like a promise for the future than a way of diverting attention from Mr. Silverstein's growing troubles at ground zero.

Mr. Silverstein's problems stem from his vision for the site - one that is looking increasingly wrongheaded and unpopular. He has insisted repeatedly that he intends to rebuild 10 million square feet of office space. But Mr. Bloomberg and the Port Authority are trying to wrest control over parts of the site from him and his company to alter the direction of the redevelopment. The mayor wants to add residential apartments to the commercial space now planned around the memorial. Port Authority administrators want to make sure that the two towers planned to be built along Church Street don't remain empty sand lots until the developer finally gets around to building on them. The city, the Port Authority and other responsible players are looking at creating retail space on the site that could be turned into the base for future towers. Then they could build the towers to fit a commercial or residential market, whatever looks reasonable and marketable in the future. It is a sensible plan that all parties should hammer into reality.

Mr. Silverstein is fond of talking about the $120 million in annual ground rent he is obliged to pay the Port Authority. That rent, he implies, is both a sign of his good faith and a measure of the financial hardship that is driving him forward. But yielding control over portions of the World Trade Center site to the Port Authority would be a good way for him to cut his massive bill. The savings could be spent on making sure the Freedom Tower emerges in a form that is actually worth building.

In the back and forth among Mr. Silverstein, the city, the state and the Port Authority, one important negotiating tool is the $3.35 billion in Liberty Bonds that became available after Sept. 11 to help rebuild downtown. Mr. Silverstein wants control of these bonds, which would make it even easier for him to dictate the style, cost and use of the other buildings on the site. The governor has said he will give the state's half, or $1.67 billion, to Mr. Silverstein, but only if the developer and the Port Authority can reach an agreement on how to rebuild the remaining portions of the site.

Mr. Silverstein may have good intentions. But the governor cannot just hand him the bonds and hope that everything will turn out all right. Any builder on this site needs a public minder - and right now that means Mr. Silverstein, if only because he is a private developer working with public money and building a public building on public ground. His conception of what should be built on this site is, if anything, far too narrow. Ground zero must not become simply another urban development or another large commercial venture.

To many people it remains a mystery why the Port Authority or the city didn't buy out Mr. Silverstein's lease in the months immediately after 9/11. There has always been a simple answer to that: For those who want ground zero rebuilt quickly, Mr. Silverstein controls the clock. He is more than willing to take his battles to court in the sure knowledge that his own calendar - despite his age, which he often cites - is a more leisurely one than the political calendar that elected officials live by.

VI. The Board That Holds It Together

Since it was founded by Mr. Pataki and then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani shortly after Sept. 11, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation has been the one organization charged with the daunting task of harmonizing all of the strident voices and coming up with a workable plan. The group has an impressive board of directors. Even better, it had $2 billion to parcel out according to its own guidelines. Although some of those dollars have been put to better use than others, it was a wise move to give this seed money to civic leaders and keep the usual political hacks out of reach of the cash and bonds.

Mr. Pataki has repeatedly praised the LMDC board. But he also apparently regards it as a group to be used and abused at will. He has violated the open public process that the LMDC has consistently fought for. He shut down planning for the International Freedom Center while the board was still deliberating, making it clear that he cared more about the ill-informed complaints of those who claimed to speak for the families of victims than for the collective wisdom of the LMDC. As a result, there has been talk, mainly by the governor and his aides, of simply letting the whole board fade away, on the ground that it is just another layer of bureaucracy.

The LMDC is not perfect. It is not open enough to the public, and its leaders have been too fearful about insisting that the different designs for the site remain as strong and uncompromised as they should be. But, shutting down the LMDC now would be a real mistake. It would be the end of serious public engagement in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan.

Of all those with a hand in this complicated project, the LMDC is the one entity that encourages public input and tries to listen to more than one side. Without it, each participant would charge ahead separately and perhaps even more secretively - the developer, the governor, the Port Authority, the memorial foundation, the families, the neighbors, the commercial community. Mr. Bloomberg clearly recognized the LMDC's central role when he moved some of his big names from his administration onto the board shortly after his election.

VII. Whither Ground Zero?

So what do we do now? Do we forget the grand plans and accept some pretty dismal realities? Is New York City going to settle for the muddling of its most important building project in decades or is it time for a serious mid-course correction?

It is clearly time to rethink things. But, if there is going to be any reordering of this complicated and important revival at ground zero, there is one important caveat: we all need to do it together. No one interest group can take over - not the small but very vocal collection of people shouting in the name of victims' families, not the developer, not the politicians. This site is a public trust, and it must be redeveloped in the public interest. We need to hear again - and to keep hearing - from the strong voices that called for a vibrant renewal of Lower Manhattan. The risk of silence, of complacency, is too great. Without those public voices, the risk, as one artist warned several years ago, is that downtown New York might end up looking a lot like downtown Albany.

In this spirit, we have a few specific assignments:

For Mr. Pataki: Governor, it's time for you to start focusing on the memorial. The memorial design has been shrinking in ways that could make this important component of the overall plan less meaningful, less accessible, and possibly even less safe than it should be. (There are some bad ideas floating around for entrances and exits to the memorial that raise serious issues about traffic flow and emergency evacuation.) Also, you need to ramp up your fundraising for the memorial.

For Mr. Bloomberg: Mr. Mayor, you have promised to get more involved. Well, get involved. Your representatives on the LMDC need to monitor the ways this site will work - not just for the business community or the residents or the families, but for all the rest of us. More than any other player, you are in a position now to argue for making ground zero a vital, dynamic part of the city's landscape. As Mr. Pataki joins the presidential scrum, you will need to play an even greater oversight role.

For the public: Demand that the memorial be great, not merely good. Demand that culture - New York's best culture - be a part of the site. And keep a sharp eye on those promising to rebuild downtown. LMDC board meetings are held regularly in Manhattan and are open to all. In the end, ground zero belongs to all of us.

Lela Moore contributed research for this article.

[BPC]

Why is every "think piece" I read about the WTC site just filled with crapola? This is one of the worst ones yet. Expand the memorial, halt all commercial development, go back to Libeskind's original design. Blah, blah, blah.

[Nordica]

Right BPC, pure crap. They write as if Libeskind and Arad deserve some sort of reverence.

Gotta be a paid-for PR piece

[BrooklynRider]

It does seem that Talking Points writers are more and more often seeming to feel the need to restate the whole history of the site from 9/11 to present in making any argument, just to show that they understand the dynamics. That article could use some heavy editing. All said, I think it offers nothing new. Asking people who have so politicized the process to make a bold move is just not realistic. The best plan would be to wait out Pataki by stalling the project, see him leave and go on to failed nationak bid, and reasess the project at the onset of the new gubernatorial term.

[krulltime]

Drawing Center sketches its future — looks to move from W.T.C. to Seaport


http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_139/drawingcenter.jpg
The Drawing Center has been talking to the city, the Lower Manhattan Development
Corporation and General Growth Properties about building a museum on the New Market
building site. General Growth plans to exercise its right to develop two former Fulton Fish
Market sites, the Tin Building and Fish Market Stalls.


By Ronda Kaysen
Volume 18 • Issue 34 | January 6 - 12, 2006


The Drawing Center is considering a new home in the South Street Seaport, its first public step since leaving the World Trade Center, adding a new twist to the story of the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan.

The Soho-based museum has been in discussions with city and redevelopment officials about building a new two-story, 40,000 sq. ft. museum in a building previously occupied by the Fulton Fish Market, which moved to a new facility in the South Bronx in November. The museum has set its sights on the New Market building, near the Pier 17 mall at South St.

“We’re headed toward a good conclusion here. It’s going to be a huge effort to get this to happen,” said Drawing Center president George Negroponte in a telephone interview with Downtown Express.

The 29-year-old museum has been looking for a new home since it bowed out of the Trade Center redevelopment last summer after sustaining fierce criticism from some 9/11 family members wary of a museum adjacent to the memorial. In November the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the agency steering the redevelopment, allocated the museum $10 million to help them relocate.

The aging New Market building, a city-owned property just outside of the neighborhood’s historic district, juts into the East River. Next to Pier 17, a General Growth property, the New Market looks out across the river to DUMBO, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a growing arts community. “It would be symbolic and ultimately beautiful that it would be facing what we think is the arts community of New York,” said Negroponte.

Concept plans of the $45-million building show a two-story structure with a rippled, maritime rooftop and slatted windows. The ground floor is set back, creating a large open space outside. The first floor of the building would likely include extensive public space, such as a café, bookstore, educational programs and a public reception area. “It’s a building about light and water,” said Claire Weisz of Weisz + Yoes, the Drawing Center’s architectural consultant, sitting in her Centre St. office Wednesday.

The Drawing Center has remained largely silent since it withdrew from the W.T.C. last summer, spending its energy looking for an alternate site. It considered several city-owned and private properties in the neighborhood, including Fiterman Hall on the northern edge of the Trade Center site. Fiterman, a Borough of Manhattan Community College property, is supposed to be demolished later this year because of damage it sustained on 9/11. The new building there would have been a near perfect fit for the Drawing Center, said Weisz.

Ultimately, “We could not fit into their plans in the manner that we wished,” said Negroponte. The Drawing Center shifted its focus to building a structure from the ground up.

“The opportunity for any institution to have a free-standing building cannot be underestimated,” said Weisz.

The shift east from the Trade Center bodes well for the L.M.D.C., which has a special interest in the Seaport. The corporation set aside $150 million to redevelop the East River waterfront and $38 million to revitalize the tawdry Fulton St. corridor, which originates at the Seaport and will run through the W.T.C. site.

The Seaport “would be an ideal location for an institution that will bring culture and energy to the neighborhood,” L.M.D.C. president Stefan Pryor told Downtown Express. The Seaport is in the “top tier” of possible locations for the museum, he said. “It makes it very attractive for the L.M.D.C.”

Although the Drawing Center found the Seaport on its own, the fact that L.M.D.C. had a personal stake in the neighborhood did not go unnoticed. “It is a priority site for L.M.D.C. and for the city and for the mayor. We’ve taken that into consideration,” said Negroponte.

When the Fish Market moved to a new facility in the South Bronx in November, it set in motion a long-awaited redevelopment process. General Growth Properties, which operates the Seaport Mall, holds the lease for two Fish Market properties—the Tin Building and the Market Stalls on South St. The company is expected to exercise its right to develop the properties in the next six months. How General Growth proceeds will determine much of what happens in the neighborhood.

General Growth’s master plan for the area may have an arts component and will definitely include the New Market building, Michael Piazzola, vice president of the Seaport Market Place, a division of General Growth, told Downtown Express last month. Drawing Center and General Growth officials have discussed the possibility of building a museum at the Seaport several times in recent weeks. Piazzola said he has spoken to the city about including New Market in its plan and city officials are waiting to see what General Growth ends up proposing.

General Growth, one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the country, is considering a cultural institution and building a hotel with residential units, said Cheri Fein, a General Growth spokesperson.

Discussions between the museum and the firm have been promising, said Negroponte. “We’ve had several discussions, they’ve been good discussions. They take us seriously. They’re well aware of the role we played in the World Trade Center.”

General Growth acquired the Seaport properties more than a year ago when it bought the Rouse Company. Last year, it hired Beyer Blinder Belle, a large architectural and planning firm known for its preservation work, to help design a proposal to present to the city, which owns the properties. Although the company has been tightlipped in recent months, the air has been rife with speculation.

“The big elephant in the room is General Growth,” said Gary Fagin, a 20-year Seaport resident and a director of the Seaport Community Coalition, which helped rezone the neighborhood in 2003. “The word has always been that they have right of first refusal. There seems to be some question of what the extent of that is.”

General Growth’s two Fish Market properties — the Tin Building and the Market Stalls — are landmark properties in a historic district. Whatever General Growth decides, it must vet its plans with the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which oversees the city-owned property. There are deed restrictions to the lease, according to the E.D.C. and any plans that deviate from the restrictions or do not comply with the zoning restrictions would need city approval. “The city’s the landlord,” said E.D.C. spokesperson Janel Patterson. “They [General Growth] have an option on it, but it’s still city property.”

Last month, General Growth sold off about three-dozen office and industrial buildings in Maryland it inherited from Rouse. Rumors have been circulating that the company might also unload part of its Seaport holdings. Fein insists the speculation is “not accurate at this time.”

Whatever comes of the Seaport, it is clear the neighborhood is on the brink of a major transformation. The Fulton Fish Market’s November departure beckoned a new era for the landmark district.

Historic Front Street, a new development on Front St. between Beekman St. and Peck Slip, recently leased five of its 15 retail properties. A restaurant, wine bar, pizzeria and upscale deli are all expected to open on the block by early spring. A Pita Grill, a bakery and a florist will likely sign leases by the end of the month, according to Robert Frischman, president of JDF Realty, the leasing agent.

“The Fish Market was always the big question mark,” said Frischman. “Now that it’s left a whole new dynamic has been unleashed.”

Frischman expects to lease the remaining eight storefronts by summer.

The change is fraught with anxiety for some longtime residents who worked first to landmark the neighborhood in the late ‘70s and then rezone it two years ago. Some worry the neighborhood could go the way of Soho, an artist’s enclave that has withered into an overpriced shell of itself with inaccessible flagship stores and luxury lofts. The other extreme—the Meatpacking District’s infamous late-night, velvet-rope club scene—is “the worst possible scenario,” said Fagin.

But a notable museum that has received international attention because of its role in the Trade Center might put some of those concerns to rest. The Drawing Center is a “major, major player Downtown,” said Fagin. “The fact that they won the ground zero spot is pretty extraordinary, it shows the extent of their stature. They’re well positioned Downtown to do good things.”


Downtown Express

[kliq6]

Downtown leasing activity hits 13-year low in `05
Downtown in 2005 had its lowest level of commercial leasing activity in 13 years, but that could change in 2006 because of leases in smaller office properties. The 3.4 million square feet leased in Downtown in 2005 was the lowest since 1992, according to a market report from brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.

A lack of confidence in the Downtown office market was the main cause in the leasing inactivity, according to Cushman & Wakefield analysts, who presented the data at a breakfast in Midtown on Wednesday morning. But ongoing leasing for smaller amounts of space may buoy the overall leasing activity Downtown as 2006 moves forward.

"It may not get as much attention, but there was a lot of leasing activity for space 10,000 square feet and under," said Andy Peretz, Cushman & Wakefield's executive director for office leasing Downtown. Peretz said the activity can be found in spaces ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 square feet.

Overall, Downtown exited 2005 with a vacancy rate of 10.6 percent, its lowest rate since 2001, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Average asking rents for office space there climbed to $30.89 at year's end -- only about $1 shy of 2004's year-end rent.

[TonyO]

Esquire Magazine
Part 2 - World Trade Center

The Engineers

By Scott Raab | Feb 1, 2006 | 8187

THE SPEECHIFYING IS OVER at ground zero. The ceremonies have been held, some more than once. The bagpipers have piped, the silver bells have been rung, and the ground itself, hallowed or not, has been broken more often than Madonna's maidenhead.

What remains of the World Trade Center, capitalism's capital—earth and rock, dust and ash, buried rebar and rusted steel—still feels like a boneyard when the mourners and politicians come to make a show of grief. But healing the heart, individual or collective, takes doing , not grieving. This is no mere mass grave. Two blocks from Wall Street, these sixteen acres are also part of the pulse of Western civilization, which is precisely why barbarians picked this spot for their slaughter.

This also is why it is a work site again. And why it is a battleground.

The seismic social forces that first raised up the Twin Towers—politics, power, and money—have poured into the vacuum created by their collapse. If the men fighting for control of ground zero have displayed little of the vision and none of the selflessness we want to see in our heroes—and the empty earth here is proof enough of what they lack—maybe the reality is that what we want to see is only a sweetened version of how history and buildings actually are made by the force of men. Vision and selflessness are fine thoughts, but history and buildings—civilizations—are built on the bedrock of hunger, powerlust, and greed. Civil societies are products of savage wars waged by men who, in the present case, sport shiny cuff links while firing great fusillades of flaming lawyers at one another. It is December 2005. At ground zero, it is also the Stone Age, although with better tools.

Someday, these sixteen acres again will be full: The governor has decreed it so. There will be buildings, perhaps too many—a 9/11 memorial and museum, a performing-arts center, five office towers, a train station, and oodles of not just any retail but the sort that the emerald-eyed brokers of Manhattan real estate prefer to call destination retail, meaning Coach, not Costco.

First, though, will rise the real monument, a tribute to all the forces—individual and collective, seismic and small—at war on ground zero. This is the Freedom Tower, which will cost $2 billion, give or take, soar 1,776 feet, and contain 2.6 million square feet of office space, plus—down in the basement, of course— destination retail, but which is at present, at bedrock , an engineering problem.

Several engineering problems, actually.

Nonetheless. The speechifying is over at ground zero; in April, the building of the Freedom Tower begins.

Now come the engineers.


THE DEPTH AND QUALITY of the bedrock beneath the island of Manhattan has defined the horizon of its tallest skyscrapers—clustered toward midtown and above, and clumped at the narrow southern tip of the island, where the World Trade Center stood. The WTC site has always presented an engineering problem: The east shore of the Hudson River is only a few hundred feet west. Finding bedrock strong enough to anchor the Twin Towers in 1967 meant excavating down to seventy feet below street level—seventy feet of waterlogged muck under a mix of colonial-era fill—and figuring out some way to hold and keep the river out, all while working around a railway line that enters the site from the west through one tunnel, curves south, jogs east, heads north, and then exits west, back under the Hudson to New Jersey through a second tunnel.

Big job. George Tamaro did it. Twice. In 1967, as a thirty-year-old engineer at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the quasi-governmental agency that built the WTC and still owns these sixteen acres, George oversaw the job of building a bathtub in reverse, its four sides comprised of three-foot-thick "slurry" walls—so named for the thixotropic soup of clay and water that was pumped into the trenches that held the titanic panels of steel-reinforced concrete that formed them—to seal out the river as the WTC foundations were built up and their horizontal slabs could brace the seventy-foot-deep pit against the Hudson's lateral force. On 9/11, those support slabs were shattered and crushed, and Tamaro returned to ground zero on 9/12 to figure out how to make sure his bathtub—packed with three billion tons of smoking ruin—didn't fail during the recovery work. If it had failed, not only would the stricken WTC site have flooded, but the Hudson would have burst through the two train tubes on the bathtub's west side, rushed through other tubes connecting back to midtown, and taken out much of the city's subway system.

The walls held—and that's why, among the scores of engineers now working on the Freedom Tower, Tamaro is the éminence grise. In his official capacity, he's a senior partner at Mueser Rutledge, the geotechnical consultants for the new tower's foundations. Unofficially, he's the guru of ground zero, the bathtub builder, the high priest of the pit—a legend.

"Oh, God," Tamaro laughs. "I'm not dead yet. Be kind to me."

Balding and bespectacled, George is waiting for the PATH train, the New Jersey commuter line that runs through ground zero. Besides a trek along the tracks, the train is the only way to get a glimpse of the engineering job ahead: The Freedom Tower is going to straddle these railroad tracks. Nineteen of the tower's huge column footings—the concrete bases planted deep into the bedrock to spread the tower's load—will be woven and rooted here, between sets of tracks along a narrow, curving five-hundred-foot stretch, between the trains' crash wall and the north wall of the bathtub.

"Everything begins to converge," George says as the train pulls out.

"All the tracks go into one tunnel across the river—and all of those convergences and switches are under the footprint of the Freedom Tower. And they have to be accommodated by jiggling and moving foundations around."

It's early afternoon, twilight outside the windows; the slow-rolling train is covered by a horizontal concrete slab, a remnant of the WTC parking garage, held in place by a forest of columns. At the north edge of the Freedom Tower's eastern perimeter, the four curving sets of tracks switch down to two at a point where the space from the crash wall to the slurry wall is only fifty feet. Out there, too, in the dark—along the tracks, among the columns, beneath the horizontal slab—are banks of dozens of black conduits, fat as pythons, encasing utility cable and signal cable and communications cable; and the fire standpipe that runs along one side of the tracks, and its hose racks; and the compressed-air line operating the interlocking switches that runs along the other side: This all has to be moved—relocated, rerouted, and reconnected—before the footings can be poured.

You can't see much from inside the train, but George Tamaro needs no eyes down here. "There's very little room in here against the wall," he says now. "The tieback heads are protruding, and those are critical dimensions for clearances." He's referring to grouted steel tendons covered by large round metal caps, which now anchor the old bathtub wall to bedrock. Once the new tower's foundations can resupport the slurry wall, the tiebacks will be detensioned and the heads can be cut off.

Each inch and angle is calculated. The train's "dynamic envelope," the entire volume of space it uses as it sways and curves, must be accounted for at every point. And every stitch of this work—testing the bedrock, surveying and marking the points where the utilities and switch boxes and fire standpipe need to be relocated to make way for the new footings, and excavating and pouring the footings themselves—must be done in the middle of the night so forty thousand daily PATH riders won't be inconvenienced.

In fact, on the train they won't even know it's happening. But George Tamaro will. Riding the PATH with him is like visiting the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo doing play-by-play.

"Now we're turning," George says as the train curves slowly, gently, almost imperceptibly. "We're gonna turn right—level stretch, we're at the corner, and now we're going down into the tunnel. There we are—we're in the tunnel."

He needs no eyes down here. He just knows how it feels.

"I only go down in holes," George laughs. "I can't take altitude—I get nosebleeds. They don't let me above grade."

Tamaro is a foundations engineer, and when a foundations man sees a building, he first looks down—to the earth, where bedrock is no metaphor—not up.

"I like to look at a structure," he says, "and understand where the forces are going. If I can't understand where the forces are going, I worry about the structure. Because if it's not clear to me looking at it, it's probably not clear to the structure where in the hell the forces should go.

"I am an engineer. I am a symmetrist. You get some of these gimmicky things, God knows where the hell the forces are going. And you can be surprised. Smart as we are, we can be surprised."


THE FREEDOM TOWER will be a monument to many forces—money, memory, money, vanity, ingenuity, New York City's infinite resolve and resilience, and money—but the primary architectural challenge it presents is a tribute to the forces of modern warfare. The standard line, publicly unspoken, is that the danger inherent to building another symbolic skyscraper at ground zero is a national-security issue, not an engineering problem; in other words, designing and building a super-high-rise office tower to withstand every possible means of attack simply can't be done. Still, nobody's taking any chances with the Freedom Tower. It's designed to meet the security standards of a United States embassy on unfriendly turf—beginning with its blastproof twenty-story concrete cube of a base.

Standing in a midtown conference room full of architects, engineers, and consultants, David Childs sweet-talks the man at the head of the table, Larry Silverstein. It's Larry's room, Larry's dime, and—for the next century or so, if he can finally get it built—Larry's Freedom Tower. Childs, the Freedom Tower's lead architect, is trying to make it beautiful. Larry, the real estate developer who holds the lease, has to pay for it.

Childs is tall, placid, and moon-faced. His long fingers and gentle baritone stroke the still air. "Materiality," he says. Then, dreaming aloud, he speaks of the "softness of the skin," of "penetration," of playfulness and seduction, of titanium and stainless steel, and, shyly, of nickel.

" Nickel ," Silverstein barks in the timeless Brooklyn dialect of Nasalese. " Nickel . Hoo boy." At seventy-four, ten years older than David Childs, he's hawkeyed and snappish. He knows that nickel costs ; what he wants to know is if the six revolving doors planned at the tower's north entry and four at the south will be sufficient for the foot traffic flowing into and out of the building.

Childs says that he believes so, but then he adds—quietly, half to himself—"We'll screw up somewhere."

Silverstein, all ears, is unamused. "Do it on somebody else's building," he says. "Not mine."

Mine. You can't begrudge Larry for using the word. Only a few weeks before 9/11, on July 24, 2001, Larry Silverstein signed a ninety-nine-year, $3.2 billion lease on the World Trade Center, the biggest real estate deal in the city's history. In the name of privatization, George Pataki, the Republican governor of New York, had forced the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to fork over its twin 110-story jewels, and Pataki himself handed Larry the ceremonial keys. Then came Armageddon, and ever since, Larry has been the fall guy—milked, muscled, and thwarted by the Port and Pataki, strung out by the insurance companies, and blamed for every goddamn thing that hasn't gotten done at ground zero.

Funny: Larry couldn't wait to start rebuilding ground zero as soon as the rubble could be cleared, and he said so to the world on 9/14. It may have been the impulsive vow of a proud city native and a feisty, highly leveraged daredevil of a developer, but to the freshly bloodied city it sounded grotesquely insensitive.

Silverstein was instantly, permanently vilified, but he wasn't alone in grabbing for quick control of ground zero. The Port—facing the loss of the whole site, the disappearance of its own headquarters, and the death of eighty-four employees, including its executive director—still owned the acreage. But Rudy Giuliani, ending his reign at City Hall and fearing that a Democrat would succeed him, contrived with Pataki to keep the site out of enemy hands by chartering a "development corporation"—essentially a front for George Pataki—to make all the decisions affecting ground zero.

Pataki told the Port they'd be taking marching orders from his henchmen. The Port, in business since 1921, hunkered down to outlast Pataki, fattening on the $10 million in monthly rent Larry Silverstein pays for the scorched earth of ground zero. Pataki set the priorities and timetable for the rebuilding. But when the governor picked a "master plan" concocted by a politically wired starchitect who'd never built a single high-rise office building—and when his design for the Freedom Tower turned out to be an asymmetrical engineering nightmare plunked down at the most difficult and expensive spot on the site to put a 1,776-foot-tall building—Larry Silverstein, armed with only his 1,160-page lease and a brace of huevos big enough to choke King Kong, said, "Enough."

Silverstein couldn't force Pataki to move the Freedom Tower—hell, it took the New York Police Department antiterrorism squad nearly a year to strong-arm Pataki and the Port into moving it just a few feet farther from the six-lane highway where Pataki's architect wanted it, costing Larry another ninety million bucks in rent and forcing him to pay for a redesign of the tower to fortify the base—but he sure as hell could bring in his own architect to redo the building: It said so right there in his lease.

And now David Childs is worrying about how to clad the new base so that it looks nice—or, in Childspeak, "more humane and touchable"—while Larry's fretting over the Freedom Tower's program , the generic term for every numerical detail of a building, from how much the whole thing will cost down to how many pairs of feet will ride each escalator at any given time of day.

As Childs starts talking about filtered shafts of light, invoking the vaulted ceiling of Grand Central Station and the Doge's Palace in Venice, Larry asks him about possible snow and ice issues at the entrances—and pigeons.

"I'm always worried about pigeons," Larry says.

These forces—Larry and his lieutenants, Childs and a crew from his firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, along with various engineering and construction consultants—collide every week in a process that will transform the Freedom Tower from concept to building. Today, the Skidmore boys have brought two thick flip-books for Larry to see, full of illustrations of patterns and textures meant to inspire visions of the base. The books—barely glanced at—sit on the table; Larry is out of his chair and next to Childs at the wall, peering closely at three large drawings, side by side, of street-level entrance arrangements.

"Will these openings meet the safety criteria?" Silverstein asks.

"Not to evade the question, Larry," Childs says, "but we'll have to check with the security consultants."

"By the way," says Silverstein. "Your neighbor in the Adirondacks"—meaning Governor Pataki—"is gonna want an update next Wednesday or Thursday."

It's hard to tell whether Childs smiles or winces at this. These meetings—with Larry, with the Port Authority, with all the engineering and construction and security consultants—there is no end of these meetings, and of preparing for these meetings, and of trying to make sure that each of these meetings, especially these weekly design meetings with a client who seems focused on everything but design, end on an up beat.

Silverstein tries. "You're going in the right direction," he says to Childs, gesturing at the drawings of the building's base. "It seems to me much more capable of being spectacular."

"You know, Larry," says Childs, grinning bashfully, "I've always hoped someday to try to put some sort of grotto into a large space like this, so folks as they enter can hear the trickling of water."

Janno Lieber, Silverstein's senior VP and project director, speaks up for the first time today. "I hear the trickling of dollars," he says.


DAVID CHILDS NEVER meets force with force. He learned to coo poetry to power in Washington, D. C., where he joined SOM in 1971 and where I. M. Pei advised him that the most vital single piece of any architectural project is the client.

"The client's role," Childs says in his office at SOM's Wall Street headquarters, "whether it's a museum board or an individual who wants to create something and gets involved, is a critical factor in the ultimate result of what we do. Unlike a painter or a sculptor—they fully satisfy themselves, and the critics will have at it and the museums will buy it or not, but they can actually produce their work—we do it through all sorts of strange smoke and mirrors and all that other stuff. You have to be persuasive to get your way. And the best way to do that is not a head-on fight, but to develop your arguments, and any way you can get there is okay."

Unlike Pataki's vanished architect, Childs is no critics' darling. Skidmore is a seventy-year-old firm, arguably the world's premier corporate architect, and Childs is accustomed to persuading all manner of princes and parvenus. His eyeglass frames don't scream artiste , he releases no doves when ground is broken for his buildings—as did the Spanish golden boy Santiago Calatrava at ground zero last September when the Port turned the first shovel of earth for its federally funded $2.2 billion PATH station, scheduled to open for business in 2010 and already called simply, and with hushed pride, "the Calatrava"—and Childs's tie is knotted to the neck even at the SOM office.

"People want to have the architect seen as an individual artist doing his sculptural form. I'm much more pragmatic," he says. "I believe that the fascination of the program, and solving the problem, is part of architecture. First of all, you've got to do that—and then you've got to make it beautiful, rather than making the sculpture and then cramming stuff into it."

Silverstein hired Childs right after signing the WTC lease, to help spruce up the old Twin Towers, and Childs designed Larry's new fifty-two-floor office building at 7 WTC, a few steps northeast of the Freedom Tower site. Silverstein had owned outright the tower that fell there—the last building destroyed on 9/11—and without having to battle the Port Authority or George Pataki, Childs and Silverstein already have completed a stunning blue-glass jewel on the north edge of ground zero in the same stretch of time that it has taken to issue the bid to relocate the PATH utilities to make way for the Freedom Tower's column footings.

Long before the NYPD stepped in, Silverstein and Childs tried to get the governor to move the Freedom Tower to the southeast corner of ground zero—away from the PATH tracks, closer to the Calatrava and a planned subway hub, and farther from the Hudson, where solid bedrock lay near to grade. George Pataki, stiff-necked, refused to budge it. But Pataki dearly loves Childs's new design: A tapering, rotated-square shaft, curtained in glass, mounted on its mighty pedestal and crowned, at least in Childs's public presentations, with a 414-foot broadcast-antenna-cum-light-shooting-spire, it's meant to stand as the Victory Tower for Lower Manhattan. The governor has even taken to calling the spire the "Torch of Freedom."

Pataki's focus on the Freedom Tower, and particularly its crown, has grown especially acute since he announced his decision not to run for a fourth term as governor and began touring the nation—starting with Iowa, California, and New Hampshire—to explore what it might take to become a viable candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. If he's going to run as the guy who brought ground zero back from 9/11, Pataki must be able to point to the Freedom Tower as his manly legacy—and he needs the tip of the tower to point right back.

"He's a man who can say yes or no on many things," says Childs.

"One of the things I'm worried about is the antenna. We haven't touched it. The governor doesn't really know that, and for him this is the most important piece of sculpture in the whole building. This is what's going to give it its crown—it's the great plume up there, a major-size building in itself. Up there and alone in the air, it's gotta be something that has stature to it. This is a very expensive item. How are we going to figure out how to pay for this? That's the real answer. The governor knows that he'll be part of that. It's a question of how much.

"We are at a strange state in this project. It's going to be built—but will it be built well? This is going to be up there forever. Larry knows this is the building on which he's going to be judged, and his intentions are right, but we've got to fight together constantly to get this thing done well.

"The scheme is good, but because it's so simple, it's dependent even more on the quality of its detailing and its construction. If it's done badly—with bad materials—it would be awful. You've got to build it perfectly, with good, basic, high-quality materials—stainless steel, rather than aluminum. We'll see—we're not home free yet."


HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? How long will it stand? Truth is, George Pataki has spent more hours on the ground in Iowa than at ground zero the past few months—and the Twin Towers, the pyramids of the Port Authority, stood not quite thirty years. Larry Silverstein's lease expires in 2100—at which point Larry will be, God willing, almost 170 years old—and it requires him to top the Freedom Tower with a broadcast antenna, not to fund a pinwheeling, laser-firing feather for some politician's dunce cap.

Which isn't to suggest that these questions don't matter—nobody can keep precise count, but millions of pilgrims already come every year to ground zero, to stand and gaze out into a void—but only to say that the earth itself is not indifferent here. Spindle or sparkler, Pataki's Torch of Freedom, too, will be anchored by those footings—the real base of the Freedom Tower—cast deep into bedrock 500 million years old.

Outside the crash wall, under the warm September sun, Pablo Lopez shrugs his massive shoulders. "If ya hadda put the building anywhere, this was probably the spot where ya shouldn'ta put it," he says. But it's not a big deal. It's a perfect autumn afternoon, and Pablo and his fellow engineer Andrew Pontecorvo are happy to be out of the office for a few hours.

Lopez and Pontecorvo know the ground of ground zero better than anyone, except for their boss at Mueser Rutledge, George Tamaro. After 9/11, Tamaro mapped from memory much of what lay below the WTC ruins, but at the age of sixty-four, he wasn't going to plumb the depths of ground zero firsthand. Yet someone had to do it—and so he gave Pablo and Andrew the job. They spent eight months together spelunking the voids under the rubble, making certain that the slurry walls, and the rubble pile itself, could withstand the force of the WTC recovery effort.

"That was the mission given to us," Lopez says. "Find out, along the perimeter of the wall and any other places that you can get access to, what the condition of structure is. How much is intact—if there's a portion that's collapsed and leaning against something, identify that—so that they can get an idea, from bottom to top, exactly how each level is being supported."

It was a military mission. On one of his first days at ground zero, an emergency-services cop walked Pablo through the site to steel him for the horror show that awaited below. "He told me, 'I know yer gonna be down here for a long time,' " says Lopez. " 'I'm gonna show you everything.' And he showed me everything. He showed me dead bodies, the smells. He said, 'You gotta get used to this.' He broke me in."

Lopez is a husky, loudmouthed six foot four; Pontecorvo is quiet, a trim six-footer. They've got on blank white hard hats and orange safety vests over their shirts and ties. They seem far closer than colleagues; they're comrades, brothers-in-arms. "Before we even stepped down into anything," Lopez says, "we made a promise to each other—we don't go anywhere unless both of us agree to do it. The stuff we were doin', goin' underneath a lot of the collapsed structure—some of the contractors'd say, 'You guys must have a death wish.' "

Now each finishes the other's sentences, they often speak in unison, and as Pontecorvo's voice starts to quake when he tells what it felt like to watch the towers fall from his midtown office, Lopez steps in with a story long enough for his buddy to collect himself. Once a year, Pablo says, they get tests at a local hospital "to find out if we're dyin' of some strange diseases. Blood tests, urine tests, breathe in, breathe out. 'Do ya have any tremors? Do ya have any night sweats? How do ya feel about the work ya did down there?' I say, 'Fine. We're absolutely fine wit' it—matter of fact, we take great pride in what we did.' "

"The first time I came down here and walked up to the pile," says Pontecorvo, "you were completely overwhelmed. You looked at it and said, 'Wow—we're not gonna be done with this for years.' The fact that we were done by the following May was miraculous."

"Without losing anyone," Lopez adds. "Without anyone being killed—that was just amazing. I take pride in this because it shows that engineers can do more than just walk around and design and all of this other crap. It was an opportunity to show people that we're not just pencil pushers with plastic pocket protectors. And—just for the record—I have never worn a pocket protector."

"I got one as a gift," Pontecorvo mutters, straight-faced. "But I've never worn it."

Pablo and Andrew are still focused on the forces at the base of ground zero, working with crews from Jersey Boring and Drilling to drill core samples of the bedrock inside and outside the crash wall at the spots where the structural-engineering consultants want to plant the Freedom Tower column footings. They need to make sure that the bedrock can take the force of the tower's load—as much as 120 tons per square foot.

Outside the crash wall, this is a relatively simple affair: A truck-mounted drill rig—thirty-one feet tall with its derrick fully raised—trundles down the ramp into the pit and, once in position, starts driving a double-tubed coring barrel with a water-cooled diamond bit through the old WTC slab-on-grade of ground zero and into the bedrock just below. The outer tube cuts; the inner tube retracts and holds five- and ten-foot-long runs of core samples, two inches in diameter—long cylinders of Precambrian schist—from as deep as forty-five feet below the bedrock's surface.

Behind the crash wall, it's not so simple. The truck-mounted drill rig is too heavy to risk setting on the old slab over the tracks, so a 1,450-pound trailer-mounted rig is attached to a pickup truck and towed onto the slab to do the job—after it drills through the slab to clear a hole down to the earth below. And this, too, has to happen between 1:00 and 5:00 A.M., during the PATH's normal maintenance shutdown.

"A pain in the ass," says Pablo.

It's a short hike from the sunlit northwest corner of ground zero into the shade where stacks of pine boxes holding the Freedom Tower core samples sit under the construction bridge that ramps down from Liberty Street at the site's south perimeter. A short hike across sacred earth—the footprint of the old south Twin. But it is more sacrosanct in memory now, and in rhetoric, than in reality. The cornerstone that was laid on July 4, 2004—just in time for George Pataki to host the Republican National Convention—sits boxed in blue plywood inside an empty footing at what was to be one corner of the previous version of the Freedom Tower. All of ground zero is, more and more, a work site.

Andrew Pontecorvo opens a core box, removes a broken half cylinder—seven or eight inches of white-veined, gold-flecked gray rock—and rubs his finger across its exposed innards.

"Feel that," he says. "Feel how that's slick and soapy—that's the concept of what decomposition of the rock is. The inside of the joint is decomposed, but the outside—the piece of rock—is not. This is intact rock. When you do a coring, you'll get back varying lengths of intact rock in the core, and based primarily on the joints—the condition of the joints, how many breaks there are in terms of open joints—you'll give it a rock-quality designation."

Pablo pulls out a three-foot cylinder. "Here you go," he says. "This is a good run."

"Pretty good," says Andrew. "This is a weathered, iron-stained joint—natural."

"One solid-piece core, nice and solid," Pablo says. "We were expecting the top would have some weathering, but as you go down, it's getting better. Based on the length over which the sample was taken, the quality of the rock, and the length that's recovered, you're able to classify this—either Class Type 1, 2, or 3. Class Type 1 rock means that this stuff can take sixty tons per square foot of compression without having any problems. Once you know what rock capacity it is, when the structural engineer tells you, 'I need so-much-capacity rock,' you can tell him, 'You're gonna find it at this depth'—and he knows how deep to put his footing."

A footing sunk at least eleven feet into Class Type 1 rock can take 120 tons per square foot, the maximum code allowance. When it comes to engineering the Freedom Tower, "How much?" and "How long?" depend on "How deep?" and "How strong?" Because while all the folks are looking up at the Freedom Tower's spire, every load—every gust of wind, every ounce of weight, and, far greater than all that, the timeless pushing of the Hudson forcing itself against the slurry wall for now, but, soon, against the tower itself—must go down: down to its foundations, and down into the bedrock where it stands.


EVEN AFTER FIFTY YEARS in the business, Larry Silverstein is hardly the strongest force in New York City real estate. But there is no object quite so immovable as Larry, socketed to the ground zero bedrock with his slurry wall of a lease. The Port, Pataki, even the dreadnought New York Times editorial board—all have tried in vain to dislodge him. He has fought insurance companies in court for years over whether two jets hitting two towers constituted two insurable incidents—Larry's claim—or one; he's still fighting to collect the $4.6 billion in WTC insurance proceeds he has been awarded, money he needs to put up not only the Freedom Tower but four more office buildings at ground zero. Later this year, his ground zero rent goes up another million and a half per month, and he's already out at least $1.5 billion in toto—with nothing to show for it.

Somehow, though, Larry and his lease are still standing.

"I promised the mayor," he rasps, "and I promised the governor, back on 9/11. I said, 'I'll give ya the next ten years of my life to get this goddamn thing done.' And I intend to do it. And hopefully live long enough to see it."

To see him at a design meeting, rubbing his hands as he schemes to snatch more storage from the Port in the Freedom Tower subbasement, you might dismiss him as just some Fifth Avenue Fagin, as the Port and the pols have tried to do, and miss the iron in his spine.

Five years ago, five days before the final bids on the WTC lease were due, Larry Silverstein was crossing a street on his way home when a drunk driver ran a red light and hit him. Silverstein's pelvis was crushed, but as he lay drugged in the hospital, he figured he ought to finish framing the bid, and pushed the bedside button for his doc.

"I told 'im, 'Reduce the morphine and call my office,' " he recalls.

Larry summoned his staff to his hospital room, fixed the final number, and lost, by $50 million, to Vornado, a nationwide realty trust. But Vornado and the Port couldn't hash out the deal, and in July 2001 Governor George Pataki, who forced the Port Authority out of the real estate business and into the WTC auction, handed Larry Silverstein the keys to the Twin Towers.

"This huge roll of cardboard keys," Silverstein says. "They have to be cardboard, or else you couldn't lift 'em."

For an immigrant's son from Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood who started out in his twenties by knitting a few $5,000 investors to buy, refurbish, refinance, and flip worn-down buildings on rundown blocks, it was an unforgettable triumph.

"I said, ' Ach , that's the achievement of a lifetime.' I said to my wife, 'C'mon—whaddaya wanna do with the rest of our lives? Because whatever you wanna do, we can do.' No one ever dreamt of 9/11. So here we are."

Silverstein sits in his spanking-new leasing office on the twenty-fifth floor of 7 WTC, not far from where a four-foot-tall model of the Freedom Tower—its base is a layered, shimmering tapestry of finely etched nickel and steel, its spiraling antenna sheathed by a webbed filigree of woven wire, lacy as a bridal veil—stands under a Plexiglas cover, mounted on a wooden, white-painted pedestal.

Larry's turned out this morning in a navy-blue double-breasted suit with a light-gray pinstripe. You could slice Vermont cheddar on the edge of his pocket square. But his eyes are heavy-lidded, his voice weary. The past few weeks have been unkind. With Pataki a lame duck now, Michael Bloomberg, the city's freshly reelected Republican mayor, has pounced. Bloomberg spent four years in office deferring to the governor on ground zero, but late in his campaign he pinned the delays at the site on Larry, telling the press that "it would be in the city's interest to get Silverstein out." The Port itself, soon to be free of Pataki's yoke, has just publicly declared its own interest in getting back into the real estate business at ground zero, buying Larry out, and maybe finding a couple of other developers to come aboard and share the wealth.

"I'm happy to work with Silverstein Properties," the Port's chairman told The New York Times , "and I'm happy to work without Silverstein Properties."

"God bless 'em," says Larry, whose grasp of the difference in force between lip service and leverage may be gleaned by noting that his personal financial stake in the $3 billion WTC deal came to only $14 million. "But the interesting thing is, they can't do this without me. They absolutely can not do it without me. There are a million developers out there who would like to take this away from us, but I'm the one who's paid the half billion dollars in ground rent. I'm the one with the lease obligations. I'm the one with the insurance-company proceeds, which I have litigated. We will rebuild the Trade Center. Period . We'll get it done."

Silverstein says he met with Bloomberg before the election to explain ground zero to him. He told the mayor about the bathtub. About the PATH train. About the Port Authority's timetable for the Calatrava. About the governor's disconnected decision-making. He reminded the mayor that the mayor's people had signed off on all these issues more than a year ago.

Now Silverstein shakes his head. "People are oblivious to the realities. At the end of the day, the mayor apologized to me. He said, 'Larry, I'm sorry for what I've said. I really didn't mean to say it, I didn't want to hurt you, certainly, and I didn't have a clue with respect to these details. I just didn't know.'

"I said, 'Okay.' I said, 'I'm still gonna vote for ya. You've done a helluva job, and God bless ya—hopefully you'll do another four years of great work.' "

Bloomberg denies making any such apology and has since gone hard after $3.35 billion of federally financed Liberty Bonds that Larry had been counting on, along with the insurance payout—thereby drawing the wrath of Pataki, whose Freedom Tower plume budget is at risk if the mayor can leverage the bond money away from Silverstein and steer it to other, perhaps more yielding, developers.

"If government doesn't wanna cooperate," shrugs Silverstein, "this thing will nevah get done. They can't do it without me—and I can't do it without them."

If you're a gambling man, bet on bedrock: Larry Silverstein. On December 15, Larry announced his fancy-pants architect for the tower that will follow the Freedom Tower onto ground zero, Lord Norman Foster. More important, Governor Pataki announced the day before that he was bypassing Bloomberg and the city to get his new best friend, Larry Silverstein, $1.67 billion of the Liberty Bond money straightaway—to fund the Freedom Tower. Still, if you step into the Freedom Tower's lobby some sweet day, should you bet on hearing the water trickling in David Childs's grotto?

"That I can't say," says Silverstein. "But I suspect not."


IT HAS LONG SINCE become a ground-zero trope that it took only four years after Pearl Harbor to win World War II. That the corpse-strewn rubble in Pearl Harbor itself was largely left to rot in peace below the waves; that it took till 1952, seven years after that war ended, to mount one plaque on a ten-foot stone at Pearl Harbor to mark the spot; that it took yet another ten years to transform the midsection of the sunken USS Arizona into a memorial; that Pearl Harbor wasn't exactly the capital of the world; and that if George Pataki had been calling the shots, the Pearl Harbor memorial would today amount to a poi stand and a Port-O-Let: All this goes unsaid in the whining about what's taking so long at ground zero.

A hundred and two minutes is how long it took to destroy the World Trade Center. If everything goes right from this point on with the Freedom Tower, it will be ready for occupancy toward the end of 2010. For people who do nothing tougher or more useful with their hands than write a check, this fact—much like ground zero itself—can be grasped only as metaphor. It must mean something, something grand, something beyond what it truly means and simply says:

It's easier to destroy than to create. It's hard to build a building. It's harder to build a big building. It's extremely hard to build an extremely tall building—and as for planting that building seventy feet below grade, atop working railroad tracks curving through the most contentious sixteen acres in the history of the United States, well, that is ****ing heroic .

For the men building the Freedom Tower, just issuing the bid request for the PATH utilities relocation work—that request went out November 1; the work will begin this month—is a very big deal. It means the sketching David Childs did on his yellow trace paper with his black Pentel was translated by a team of forty-five SOM colleagues into a set of concepts for the building, and then into the schematic drawings that the structural engineers needed to figure out where and how deep to put the footings, which meant the geotechnical engineers could go ahead and test the bedrock.

It also means that Carmine Castellano won't have to keep painting and repainting the geometric outlines where the new Freedom Tower footings and columns will go, in the gloom behind the crash wall—Day-Glo orange down on the gravel track bed for each new footing, screaming yellow on the underside of the slab above for the columns.

"I'm pretty excited about comin' back and gettin' goin'," Carmine says. "Long time inna makin', but we'll make it betta than eveh."

Holy shit—here comes a train. You hear its horn burst the air beneath the concrete slab between the crash wall and the slurry wall—long, long, short, long—before you see the shine of its headlights creeping along the ancient tiebacks.

"Stay where yer at," the flagman barks, and waves his lamp—up and down, up and down—to signal the train to keep coming. As it grinds by, maybe fifteen feet away, sparks snap underneath each car as its contact shoes—flat metal duck's feet—glide along the third rail. There may be more terrifying forces than 650 volts of direct current, but this will do just fine.

"You don't think about it when yer in the train, right?" Carmine asks. "You see the shoe? You stand too close, it'll chop yer legs off."

Carmine's a Jersey guy, flush-faced and black-whiskered, huge as a house. He worked down here with the Port when the temporary PATH station was built after 9/11; now he works for Tishman, the firm managing the construction of the Freedom Tower.

Coming back after the tower was redesigned meant Carmine was down here nights with the surveying crews, using gray paint to hide the orange and yellow diagrams he'd marked a year ago—and redrawing these new ones.

"We were smart enough to get rollers, 'cuz last time we were up on ladders. The second time around, you get smarter. We evolved —from standin' onna ladder wit' a spray can."

The trains keep shrieking by. The strip-joint rhythm of the automatic interlocking switches—three metallic thumps: BOOM bum BOOM —is followed by the banshee hiss of compressed air escaping the pneumatic line. The flagman stands guard along the track as Carmine plays the beam of his own flashlight over the fat black snakes of conduit, twined with metal clamps and gunited to the concrete slab above his head.

"That all hasta come out," he says. "Alla that hasta be moved." He moves the beam down, dancing it along the pull boxes and the fire standpipe that lines the track bed. Behind him, four sets of signal lights standing on posts beside the four sets of tracks that rule this space gleam red as devils' eyes. "These are all the switches that hafta be relocated. Because we have a column goin' right up through here"—his beam goes up again—"and a footing"—down—"right through there."

Because of the limited work hours and its complexity, the utility work alone will take nine months, minimum. The fire standpipe, the pneumatic line, the banks of high-voltage conduit mortared to the ceiling slab—the relocation crews will run whole new sets of lines in parallel, but far enough away to make room for the new footings and columns.

That's the easy part. As the utilities get moved, bank by bank, the crews nestling the new footings between the PATH tracks—and, eventually, threading the new columns up through the slab—will begin by building plywood sheds vertically, from the track bed up to the slab above, shacks big enough for two, three, or four men to work inside, depending on the available space between the tracks at the points Carmine has marked.

There's little room, for error or otherwise. The sheds can't block the view of the PATH operator at any point along the tracks—and the edge of one enclosure will come within six inches of the train's dynamic envelope.

Working inside the shack, they'll shovel down into the gravel ballast that holds the track ties, then they'll lay in timber-frame supports, piece by piece, to hold the ties in place and keep the holes they're digging clear. Then they'll section out the slab above, put in a ladder to get up and down and to take up the bags they'll pack with the debris they're digging up.

"It's gonna be a challenge," Carmine says. "Just that footing alone"—he points with his beam to the orange outline of a rectangle fifteen by nine feet—"gettin' the ballast out. It's five feet deep. It's gonna be a task."

And when they finally hit bedrock, they'll have to drill and split and chop down into the rock with a jackhammer or, if they're lucky and have room enough, a hydraulic impact hammer.

"You see the footing—see the orange? That's the perimeter of the footing. Which will have to go in some spots twenty-four feet deep inta bedrock, okay?"

When the crew finishes digging down to depth, Pablo or Andrew will do what they call a "visual subgrade inspection," to make sure there are no soft spots. They'll check the hole to see that the bedrock going down is clean and hard. They'll strike it with a hammer or a crowbar and listen for a solid, high-pitched ping and feel how the steel bounces back quick and hard into the hand. They'll bless the bedrock then— and then the hole itself, the rock within, becomes the footing's form: First a rebar grille goes in, followed by the concrete, poured down from the slab above. That's a footing.

"For about a year," Carmine says, "I won't see daylight. It's a lotta work involved, but it'll get done."

It will take as long to complete this foundation work as it will to raise the Freedom Tower seventy feet, to street level. Then—in 2007— they can fly: two floors a week, into the clouds.

Long-long-short-long. "Stay where yer at," the flagman says.

"Lotta juice in theh," says Carmine as the shoes spark. "If you hit that, it's only one shot. You don't get a second shot—it's all ovuh. We gotta work safe. Everybody wants ta go home."


THE SPEECHIFYING IS OVER at ground zero. All of the ceremonies have been held, one of them—the annual 9/11 ceremony—four times. This past September, the toll of the names of the murdered was read aloud by siblings of the dead. Many of them broke down in tears at the microphone on the temporary stage.

Beside the stage, even as the brothers and sisters wept, the politicians were glad-handing, meeting and greeting one another outside their big white VIP tent. Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Governor George Pataki, Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State Condi Rice, even Rudy Giuliani, America's mayor, who recommended on his way out of office that nothing but a memorial should be built at ground zero: all of them hugging and handshaking and grinning to beat the band, or, on this day, the lone cellist bowing a soft dirge as tears fell at the podium.

The force of private grief is immense. It scours the bedrock of heart and soul—"We miss you, Charlie, and we love you, and your boys will always remember"—it cracks and heals, cracks and heals without end. No musical instrument can capture even a fraction of the loss and hurt contained in the swelling and breaking of a human voice.

But that grief made public, pathologized in the name of an abstraction—remembrance, honor, freedom, courage, duty—so that it may be milked for money, power, and political gain is a cruel, crude tool, powerless to heal.

Maybe Rudy was right: Maybe these sixteen acres should have become a tomb. A soothing greensward, a meditation meadow, a healing retreat.

Fuhgedaboudit . This is New York City , the center of the civilized world. Over the next few years, $15 billion and more will pour onto a single square mile around ground zero, pour onto the naked bedrock of human hunger—for wealth, for power, for immortality—that took this island and built Manhattan.

That's how civilizations and their cities and buildings have always and everywhere been made—by the pitiless force of men.

We can avert our eyes; we can ignore the politicians while they prattle about making this spot the Champs Elysées of Manhattan even as they throttle one another over the gleaming heap of spoils in the treasure chest unearthed by 9/11; and we can pray for the poor souls of the innocent dead, who never knew what hit them.

The hunger for healing and remembrance demands something more. It requires doing , and it requires faith in the hope that long after the politicians and all who died here are forgotten, tens of thousands of people will still come to work in the Freedom Tower every day, and tens of millions more will come each year to see it. It is the real monument. It is the memorial.

Now it has begun. Ground zero is at last prepared for concrete, stone, and steel.

Copyright © 1997-2005 by the Hearst Corporation.

[BrooklynRider]

A summary of the article - with commentary.



...Larry asks him about possible snow and ice issues at the entrances—and pigeons.

"I'm always worried about pigeons," Larry says...

I can appreciate his concern on this. You'd think they don't consider it, but here he proves he does.


"Not to evade the question, Larry," Childs says, "but we'll have to check with the security consultants."...

Those would be the ones you forgot to check with on the original Freedom Tower design. That's some good learnin' Dave.


"You know, Larry," says Childs, grinning bashfully, "I've always hoped someday to try to put some sort of grotto into a large space like this, so folks as they enter can hear the trickling of water."...

Spare us the grotto Dave.


"The client's role," Childs says in his office at SOM's Wall Street headquarters, "whether it's a museum board or an individual who wants to create something and gets involved, is a critical factor in the ultimate result of what we do. Unlike a painter or a sculptor—they fully satisfy themselves, and the critics will have at it and the museums will buy it or not, but they can actually produce their work—we do it through all sorts of strange smoke and mirrors and all that other stuff. You have to be persuasive to get your way. And the best way to do that is not a head-on fight, but to develop your arguments, and any way you can get there is okay."...

Looking at Dave's portfolio I think he failed to develop many arguments in his career.


"People want to have the architect seen as an individual artist doing his sculptural form. I'm much more pragmatic," he says. "I believe that the fascination of the program, and solving the problem, is part of architecture. First of all, you've got to do that—and then you've got to make it beautiful, rather than making the sculpture and then cramming stuff into it."...

Except you always forget that second part Dave.


But Pataki dearly loves Childs's new design: A tapering, rotated-square shaft, curtained in glass, mounted on its mighty pedestal and crowned, at least in Childs's public presentations, with a 414-foot broadcast-antenna-cum-light-shooting-spire, it's meant to stand as the Victory Tower for Lower Manhattan. The governor has even taken to calling the spire the "Torch of Freedom."...

That doesn't mean that WE have to start calling it the "Torch of Freedom." It's bad enough we have "Freedom Tower" resembling a bunker.


Pataki's focus on the Freedom Tower, and particularly its crown, has grown especially acute since he announced his decision not to run for a fourth term as governor and began touring the nation—starting with Iowa, California, and New Hampshire—to explore what it might take to become a viable candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. ."...

I'll just suggest that it will take an eye lift, a better-tailored suit (if not a "well tailored" one), and a complete personality transplant.


"[Pataki's] a man who can say yes or no on many things," says Childs...

Oooooh. Aaaaaah. "Yes" "No" "Yes" "No" "Yes" "No" "Yes" "No" "Yes" "No"
There, can I be Governor now?


Truth is, George Pataki has spent more hours on the ground in Iowa than at ground zero the past few months...

::bitch slap:: Take THAT, Pataki!


... but millions of pilgrims already come every year to ground zero...

We've got to start handing out maps to Plymouth Rock down there.


...Outside the crash wall, under the warm September sun, Pablo Lopez shrugs his massive shoulders. "If ya hadda put the building anywhere, this was probably the spot where ya shouldn'ta put it," he says...

Gratuitous attempt to portray the "average New Yorker" as a schmo with a New Yawk accent.


..."That was the mission given to us," Lopez says. "Find out, along the perimeter of the wall and any other places that you can get access to, what the condition of structure is. How much is intact—if there's a portion that's collapsed and leaning against something, identify that—so that they can get an idea, from bottom to top, exactly how each level is being supported." ...

Note the sudden loss of gratuitous accent.


..."A short hike across sacred earth—the footprint of the old south Twin. But it is more sacrosanct in memory now, and in rhetoric, than in reality....

You hear THAT Debra Burlingame!


..."With Pataki a lame duck now... The Port itself, soon to be free of Pataki's yoke...

::bitch slap#2:: And THAT, Pataki!


..."Silverstein says he met with Bloomberg before the election to explain ground zero to him. He told the mayor about...the governor's disconnected decision-making...

::bitch slap#3:: And THIS one too, Pataki!


..."If government doesn't wanna cooperate," shrugs Silverstein, "this thing will nevah get done. They can't do it without me—and I can't do it without them."...

Cue up gratuitous New Yawk accent again.


..."On December 15, Larry announced his fancy-pants architect for the tower that will follow the Freedom Tower onto ground zero, Lord Norman Foster...

::SCREEEEEEEECH:: Wait a moment... Did he just use the phrase "fancy-pants"?

::Bitch Slap#4:: THIS one's for you Lord Foster!


...that if George Pataki had been calling the shots, the Pearl Harbor memorial would today amount to a poi stand and a Port-O-Let......

Oh and Pataki goes down to the mat in a body slam!


...That all hasta come out," he says. "Alla that hasta be moved." ... "These are all the switches that hafta be relocated. Because we have a column goin' right up through here"—his beam goes up again—"and a footing"—down—"right through there."

Gratuitous attempt at a New Joysey accent.


...THE SPEECHIFYING IS OVER at ground zero..

Yet, this article drones on and on and on and on...


...The force of private grief is immense. It scours the bedrock of heart and soul...it cracks and heals, cracks and heals without end. No musical instrument can capture even a fraction of the loss and hurt contained in the swelling and breaking of a human voice....But that grief made public, pathologized in the name of an abstraction...so that it may be milked for money, power, and political gain is a cruel, crude tool, powerless to heal.

<<Shazam!>> And the victims families are finally in his sights...PULL!...<<blast!>>...PULL!...<<blast!>>...PULL!...<<blast!>>...


...Fuhgedaboudit . This is New York City...

All together now... GRATUITOUS NEW YORK ACCENT!

[NYguy]

That Silverstein and Childs. They should do a sitcom together when the design work is finished.

Scenes from the Larry & David show...


" Nickel ," Silverstein barks in the timeless Brooklyn dialect of Nasalese. " Nickel . Hoo boy." At seventy-four, ten years older than David Childs, he's hawkeyed and snappish. He knows that nickel costs ; what he wants to know is if the six revolving doors planned at the tower's north entry and four at the south will be sufficient for the foot traffic flowing into and out of the building.

Childs says that he believes so, but then he adds—quietly, half to himself—"We'll screw up somewhere." Silverstein, all ears, is unamused. "Do it on somebody else's building," he says. "Not mine."

Add laughtrack here...



As Childs starts talking about filtered shafts of light, invoking the vaulted ceiling of Grand Central Station and the Doge's Palace in Venice, Larry asks him about possible snow and ice issues at the entrances—and pigeons.

"I'm always worried about pigeons," Larry says.

Add laughtrack here...



Today, the Skidmore boys have brought two thick flip-books for Larry to see, full of illustrations of patterns and textures meant to inspire visions of the base. The books—barely glanced at—sit on the table; Larry is out of his chair and next to Childs at the wall, peering closely at three large drawings, side by side, of street-level entrance arrangements.

"Will these openings meet the safety criteria?" Silverstein asks.
"Not to evade the question, Larry," Childs says, "but we'll have to check with the security consultants."

"By the way," says Silverstein. "Your neighbor in the Adirondacks"—meaning Governor Pataki—"is gonna want an update next Wednesday or Thursday."

It's hard to tell whether Childs smiles or winces at this.

Add witty response from Childs, then add laughtrack...



Silverstein tries. "You're going in the right direction," he says to Childs, gesturing at the drawings of the building's base. "It seems to me much more capable of being spectacular."

"You know, Larry," says Childs, grinning bashfully, "I've always hoped someday to try to put some sort of grotto into a large space like this, so folks as they enter can hear the trickling of water."

Janno Lieber, Silverstein's senior VP and project director, speaks up for the first time today. "I hear the trickling of dollars," he says.

Add laughtrack here...

[infoshare]

I am getting a copy of Esquire today.

This WTC rebuilding is "at-least" turning out to be one of nyc's - longest running & funniest - sitcoms in history.


cheers

[MrShakespeare]

Was there a Part 1 to that Esquire article? Can anyone post?

[TonyO]

Was there a Part 1 to that Esquire article? Can anyone post?

I posted that back on page 106 of this thread.

[BPC]

Thanks for the article. Esquire, along with NY Magazine, is one of the few media outlets doing solid reporting on the WTC Site.

[infoshare]

Esquire, along with NY Magazine, is one of the few media outlets doing solid reporting on the WTC Site.

Yes, just got this months issue - I also enjoyed there cover story, "in-depth" reportage on womans lingerie: quite stimulating!

cheers

[NYguy]

DOWNTOWN EXPRESS

4.65 billion reasons why I should rebuild, Silverstein says

http://downtownexpress.com/de_140/silver.jpg

W.T.C. developer Larry Silverstein said during an interview at 7 World Trade Center that the mayor is more interested in building apartments in Lower Manhattan than rebuilding offices.


By Josh Rogers

Larry Silverstein sits confidently in his empty office tower with views of the hole in the ground at the World Trade Center site as well as the two large buildings still damaged almost 4 1/2 years after the Sept. 11 attack. The mayor and the Port Authority, two of the W.T.C. power brokers, are not convinced that Silverstein is the man to develop all of the W.T.C.

But the building’s unclean windows also look out at the Hudson River and Downtown’s landmarks including the Woolworth and Municipal Buildings. Silverstein says he’s optimistic because the city and Port will realize that they won’t be able to redevelop the site unless they can find someone else who can get $4.65 billion in insurance money.

“We are the only ones with access to the money,” Silverstein, 74, said last Thursday in an exclusive interview with Downtown Express editors and reporters at 7 W.T.C. “Without the money you can’t build anything.”

Last month, Gov. George Pataki announced that he was inclined to issue Silverstein $1.67 billion of the remaining tax-free Liberty Bonds the state controls, but the mayor delayed a vote on the city’s $1.67 billion in remaining bonds, which were part of the federal government’s post-9/11 relief package for New York.

Silverstein does not need the city-controlled bonds for now and he said the vote delay will not set the redevelopment back. “We certainly do have some time,” he said. “There’s no question.”


http://downtownexpress.com/de_140/wtcview.jpg

A protective “bathtub” wall will have to be built near Church St. in this section of the World Trade Center site, where the permanent train station and Towers 3 and 4 are planned to be built.


The Bloomberg administration is negotiating conditions under which they would issue the bonds to Silverstein and is looking for assurances that he will meet design and construction timetables and the ability to “crawl back” the bonds if the developer misses a deadline.

Silverstein has enough money to begin building the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower at Vesey and West Sts. this April and Tower 2 at Church and Vesey Sts. next year, when the Port Authority is expected to have the site ready. Tower 2 has larger floor plates and he expects to fill the building with a few financial or communication firms in search of large trading floors or studio space. The Freedom Tower is likely to have a large number of tenants in need of smaller spaces and Silverstein expects both buildings to take at least a year to fill after they open in 2011.

He said Tower 2 is a better location because it will be closer to the W.T.C. PATH-subway station, but since it will take the Port Authority about a year to construct a protective bathtub there, he wants to begin building where he can first.

“Clearly the best place to start is where you’re closer to mass transit and Tower 2 is closest to mass transit,” he said. “However the realities being what they are, you cannot start Tower 2 until you excavate that major bathtub.”

The Port is now designing the bathtub and expects to begin building it this spring. Port officials have said the design could not begin until the plan was done for the train station, and places were found for the extensive amount of underground infrastructure and truck ramps needed at the site. The New York-New Jersey authority expects to have sites 3 and 4 ready for construction by the middle of 2008 although officials, say there is a chance that could be speeded up by six months.

Anthony Coscia, the Port Authority’s chairperson, told The New York Times last month that he has spoken to Silverstein about relinquishing control over much of the W.T.C. site in exchange for lowering Silverstein’s $120-million annual rent to cover just the Tower 1 and 2 sites.

Silverstein, who signed a 99-year lease with the agency for the Trade Center complex several weeks before the attack, denied anyone at the Port had raised the issue of exchanging control for a reduced rent. He refused to say last week whether or not the Port was trying to get back control of Towers 3, 4 or 5. Steve Coleman, a spokesperson for Coscia, said he had no reason to dispute his chairperson’s statement.

Pataki said Silverstein and the Port had 90 days to work out their remaining disagreements and Coleman said he thinks there will be an agreement in March.

“We’re following the governor’s timetable and we expect to have a resolution at the end of the 90 days,” Coleman said.

The Port is also arguing with the city over the retail layout at the W.T.C. The authority favors keeping Cortlandt St. closed off to create larger spaces for stores whereas the city wants to open the street to add liveliness and provide better views and access to the W.T.C. memorial. Silverstein said he would be happy with whichever idea prevails.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg told Downtown Express last month that market demand should dictate what gets built at the site and he has also spoken about considering hotels or housing there. The Liberty Bonds could be used for a hotel or retail space in addition to offices.

Silverstein said the site can’t be built entirely unless he gets all of the insurance money, which requires him to rebuild 10 million square feet of office space there. “If you stop and ponder the significance of that, you come to the conclusion that 100 percent of the office space needs to be built out,” he said.

A spokesperson for the mayor did not respond to a request for comment.

Silverstein said the mayor is “more of a supporter of residential down here than anything else.”

Bloomberg and others have questioned the demand for 10 million square feet of office space given Silverstein has only found two tenants for the 1.7 million square feet of office space at 7 W.T.C., which is expected to open in April

Silverstein said one of the reasons he has not found more tenants yet is public skepticism about the rebuilding pace.

“When you have major uncertainties, and you have major controversies it is difficult for people to relate to what’s really happening,” he said. “The constant question is, ‘is it really going to happen?’”

It will, Silverstein says, because he expects agreements with the mayor and the Port Authority. “I think at the end of the day we’ll get this resolved together.”

[antinimby]

Larry looks every bit like his 98 years.

[ZippyTheChimp]

Green hair.

Cool.

[greenwindow01]

in my opinions i find none of the freedom tower designs very appealing. they are not very eligant. id be happy just to leave a memorial park. i do howver love the bird like structures of Santiago Calatrava. and the subways station is going to be fitting. (i know this is a complete waste of space for lower manhattan but its he right thing to do.)
instead i think we should focus on the stock exchange building and create the 1776 foot tower there. its in the middle of the island making it a centeral pinical to everything. i see a design like the tower they are constructing in dubai that will be the worlds tallest.

[NYguy]

DAILY NEWS

PA boss: Let's Roll!
Pledges army of hardhats will send WTC site soaring in 2006

BY PAUL D. COLFORD


After four years of planning and squabbling over the future of Ground Zero, 2006 will finally be "the year of the hardhat" at the hallowed site.
"
It's going to be a year when people are actually going to start seeing activity," Port Authority Executive Director Kenneth Ringler said during a walk-through of the site. "By the end of 2006, we estimate there will be 1,000 construction workers here," he said.

Five hundred will work on the PATH station, which is being transformed into the Grand Central Terminal of downtown. The other hardhats will be on projects designed to rebuild what's mainly a giant hole in the ground - one that draws hundreds of tourists a day along Church and Liberty Sts.

The PA, which owns the 16 acres, estimates contractors will pour 50,000 cubic yards of concrete this year, some of which will go into fittings for the controversial World Trade Center Memorial, starting in March.

Developer Larry Silverstein, whose long-term plans are being challenged by the PA, moved closer last week to a spring start on his 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, set for the northwest corner. He awarded a contract to Petrocelli Electric, which will clear space for the foundation by relocating high-voltage lines and other wires serving PATH.

Another first-quarter project will be the temporary underpinning of the box that encloses the No. 1 subway line, which runs through the Trade Center site and separates its western portion from the not-yet-excavated east side.

Excavation of the east side - bordered by Church St. - will begin at the end of the year.

"We have to dig that area out,down to the lowest elevation, so we can put in parking and other structures," including multiple levels of stores the PortAuthority wants to develop, Ringler said.

The surge of activity this year is but a warmup for years of expanding construction at Ground Zero and the surrounding area.

Goldman Sachs recently started to build its 43-story headquarters diagonally across West St. from Ground Zero, and construction of the MTA's Fulton St. Transit Center has led to the excavation of Dey St.

Meanwhile, Silverstein is closing a deal with a Chinese developer to lease the top five stories of his new 7 World Trade Center, a source told the Daily News.

Beijing-based Vantone Real Estate Co., which plans to use roughly 200,000 square feet as a visitor and conference center to promote Chinese businesses in New York, would be the largest leaseholder so far in the 52-story building, which has been slow to attract firms.

"Having an international conference center at 7 World Trade Center is certainly consistent with my vision for downtown," Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said.

[Jake]

^Finally SOMETHING is going to happen.

1000 workers? I know nothing about this kind of construction, is that a lot or a little for this kind of a project?

[BPC]

^Finally SOMETHING is going to happen.

1000 workers? I know nothing about this kind of construction, is that a lot or a little for this kind of a project?

Not for NYC. Half of those workers will be mob-related dummy workers, and the other half will be union guys who call in sick.

[antinimby]

Not for NYC. Half of those workers will be mob-related dummy workers, and the other half will be union guys who call in sick.So that is why the quality of construction in the city is so high. See, you just can't beat the N-Y-C when it comes to quality and on-time performance. Let me tell ya.

[lofter1]

Half of those workers will be mob-related dummy workers, and the other half will be union guys who call in sick.
Your calculations leave ZERO workers doing any work ...

[BrooklynRider]

No, there's two guys, Guido and Tony, with a wrench and a pair of plyers who are going to put the whole thing together. They don't get paid as much as the sleeping teamsters, no-show mobsters and drunk union guys, but they work hard.

[antinimby]

Your calculations leave ZERO workers doing any work ...Don't think he meant it literally.

[Citytect]

No, there's two guys, Guido and Tony, with a wrench and a pair of plyers who are going to put the whole thing together. They don't get paid as much as the sleeping teamsters, no-show mobsters and drunk union guys, but they work hard.

That'd be funny if it wasn't true.

[Ninjahedge]

No, there's two guys, Guido and Tony, with a wrench and a pair of plyers who are going to put the whole thing together. They don't get paid as much as the sleeping teamsters, no-show mobsters and drunk union guys, but they work hard.


Actually, it will be two vanloads of Mexican Workers from Jersey City aned Queens that will come in and start construction.

I know, 50 guys is not a hell of alot to build with, but they will work 300 hour weeks until the building is put up, give or take a few mismatched windows, doors, elevator assemblies and the like and the construction agencies that hired them would be more than happy to point the finger at the engineers for not doing their shop drawings in Spanish.

[Jake]

Actually, it will be two vanloads of Mexican Workers from Jersey City aned Queens that will come in and start construction.

I know, 50 guys is not a hell of alot to build with, but they will work 300 hour weeks until the building is put up, give or take a few mismatched windows, doors, elevator assemblies and the like and the construction agencies that hired them would be more than happy to point the finger at the engineers for not doing their shop drawings in Spanish.

^LMAO

ACME: Freedom Tower (some assembly requiered)

You'll find the Spanish intrsuctions on the reverse of the one English ones. :p

[Ninjahedge]

^LMAO

ACME: Freedom Tower (some assembly requiered)

You'll find the Spanish intrsuctions on the reverse of the one English ones. :p

Actually, that's Russian.

But what's the diff, they are both foreign languages. They are all the same, right?

[TonyO]

Redeveloping New York City block by block

by amy zimmer / metro new york

JAN 26, 2006

With city population surging, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has pushed a five borough plan to meet housing and commercial demands. New business districts will pop up in Long Island City, Downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan’s Far West Side; new residential developments will rise along the East River and in West Chelsea, while development may be slowed in Fort Greene and the East Village/Lower East Side. Metro spoke with Amanda Burden, chair of the City Planning Commission, about how the first broad changes to city zoning since 1961 will affect New York.

....


Will these plans compete with Lower Manhattan?

The 7 line would be completed by 2012, and the office development should take off after that. Lower Manhattan development will be well under way by then. These projects have different time sequences and different markets.


How has your first month been on the board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation?

I’m in the middle of a battle right now. We feel very strongly that keeping Cortlandt Street open is essential. The Port Authority would like to put a mall over it and that would be one of the largest superblocks in Manhattan — once again, we’re repeating bad history. That’s totally wrong for orientation. From Broadway the only way to see the memorial and green of the trees is on Cortlandt Street.

[Jake]

See OK, I understand the need for stuff to look nice and be pleasant and all that. I can never understand why people think that "seeing trees from Broadway" is more important than the millions of dollars in money that this will bring to the city.

The whole bad rep of the "superblock" IMO came from the fact that the WTC was gated off by WTC 3-6, that made it look closed and alien. So what if Cortland is a mall? You can't see the trees from BPC and tearing down the WFC to do so would be ridiculous. The real question is, what is "better", seeing trees from one street in Manhattan, or a multi-million dollar city revenue generator and a local shopping center?

[JMGarcia]

[SIZE="4"][B]I’m in the middle of a battle right now. We feel very strongly that keeping Cortlandt Street open is essential. The Port Authority would like to put a mall over it and that would be one of the largest superblocks in Manhattan — once again, we’re repeating bad history. That’s totally wrong for orientation. From Broadway the only way to see the memorial and green of the trees is on Cortlandt Street.

The block bounded by Greenwich, Church, Fulton, and Liberty is not even the size of a typical block between 5th and 6th in midtown, not to mention the memorial superblock right next door. Either this guy is an idiot or something has been lost in translation.

[BPC]

He is an absolute idiot. Regardless of what you think about Cortland Street being open or closed (I favor it closed, but reasonable minds can disagree), would anyone with half a brain on his head actually look at all the problems that Lower Manhattan is facing right now, and choose to single out as the one issue of critical importance the reopening -- five years or more from now -- of a teeny tiny street for a half a block? This man is a fool.

[antinimby]

He is an absolute idiot. Regardless of what you think about Cortland Street being open or closed (I favor it closed, but reasonable minds can disagree), would anyone with half a brain on his head actually look at all the problems that Lower Manhattan is facing right now, and choose to single out as the one issue of critical importance the reopening -- five years or more from now -- of a teeny tiny street for a half a block? This man is a fool.Ah . . . before calling anyone an idiot or fool, please make sure you at least know that he is a "she."

[BPC]

Fair enough. Amanda Burden is no smarter than Dan Doctoroff. Just another hack who has thrived through political connections.