June 17th, 2011, By Dana Haugh
The new World Trade Center is under construction–
Well, the WTC site is finally seeing some steady action. Construction is underway on two of the four buildings, with Tower 1 leading (68 stories tall) and Tower 4 not far behind (32 stories). The building of Towers 2 and 3 will
depend solely on the market and the ability to get funding and tenants for the spaces. If you want to see the entire site finished by 2016, sign up for office space in the new Trade Center buildings! The lack of tenants and funding means leasing space is probably more affordable than you think. And if you’re hesitant because of the history of the buildings, keep in mind that this $20 billion construction plan is so expensive because they are going above and beyond federal safety regulations to ensure the buildings are the safest they can possibly be.
Larry Silverstein, leaseholder for the WTC site, remarks,“We studied carefully and learned as a result of our study what happened on 9/11 and therefore how not to build a high-rise office building. So the net result is, these buildings are much more costly because they’re much better buildings, much safer buildings.”
The WTC progress has sparked much optimism and excitement for the future of Downtown Manhattan and its revival. The expected completion date of 2016 looms nearer and Silverstein is confident of it being met. “By 2016, we should be out of here. This should be all done, and it’ll be an incredible advantage to Lower Manhattan.”
If you want access to full coverage on the transformation of the World Trade Center site, check out WTC Progress— it gives you quarterly reports, pictures and even a live stream of construction on site.
All information and pictures gathered from WTC Progress and NY1