As we look back today in remembrance of September 11, 2001, it’s affirming to appreciate the progress that has been made on the new World Trade Center Complex, especially over the last handful of years. The development has restored a vertical prowess to the Financial District and the Lower Manhattan skyline, given rise to a stunning new transit center topped by by Santiago Calatrava‘s Oculus, and will soon become a cultural destination as well. Construction has resumed for the Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center, tenants are steadily filling the 2.5 million square feet of office space at Three World Trade Center, and visitors are experiencing Memorial Glade, the newest section of the 9/11 Memorial. YIMBY also checks in on the current state of Two World Trade Center and Five World Trade Center.
The 9/11 Memorial. Photo by Michael Young
A sunflower is left on one of the large stone slabs that make up the Memorial Glade. Photo by Michael Young
A security guard and staff member of the 9/11 Memorial overlook the recently opened Memorial Glade, while One World Trade Center rises above the 16-acre site. Photo by Michael Young
A spokesperson for Silverstein Properties commented on new developments at the World Trade Center Complex.
YIMBY: What’s the latest on progress for 2 WTC?
Silverstein Properties: No update on 2 WTC. Currently the base of the building contains mechanical equipment that services both the Oculus below grade, and it is covered in street art.
Y: What about 5 WTC?
S: No updates, the Port Authority is managing a request for proposals for 5 WTC.
Y: Is anything else exciting happening at the site at the moment?
S: 3 WTC is leasing quickly. We recently signed a lease with a law firm that brings the building close to 60 percent leased. Other tenants signed this year include Casper, Diageo, Better.com, and Hudson River Trading. 4 WTC is 100-percent leased with Spotify as the anchor tenant. 7 WTC is also 100-percent leased with recent leases from Moet Hennessey and Zola, the wedding registry company. A lot of creative companies are moving to the WTC. Today the transit lobby of 3 WTC will open, allowing 3 WTC tenants in-building access to the Oculus and the transit network.
Looking up Three and Four World Trade Center from the 17th floor, tenant-only Skydeck. Photo by Michael Young
Work on the future 130-foot-tall, marbled-cladded performing arts center is finally picking up steam. Rex Architecture is the design architect, while the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is the developer. Davis Brody Bond Architects is working closely with REX as the executive architect. The site is located directly adjacent to the east side of One World Trade Center’s glass podium and south of Seven World Trade Center. The curved reinforced concrete walls that form the circumference of the spiraling entrance and exit ramps are taking shape. This point of access serves to connect to the Vehicle Security Center via an underground, highly secured road beneath Greenwich Street. Meanwhile, a number of large and deep steel beams and segments of the construction cranes have arrived on site. The Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center is scheduled to be completed in 2021.
Looking at the site of the performing arts center from Three World Trade Center. Photo by Michael Young
The spiral ramp will sit below the performing arts center. Photo by Michael Young
The spiral ramp walls are forming. Photo by Michael Young
Work on the site is active and the structure is finally taking shape. Photo by Michael Young
Large steel columns are arriving at the site. Photo by Michael Young
The site of Two World Trade Center, aka 200 Greenwich Street, sits to the east of Greenwich Street. The walls, ventilation ducts, steel columns, seating furniture, and perimeter of concrete planters in the foundation are covered in a kaleidoscope of bold colors and eccentric patterns. Both Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, who was the original architect of the address and one of the seven contenders for the overall master plan redesign competition of the World Trade Center back in 2002, and Bjarke Ingels of Bjarke Ingels Group had come up with visions for the final component of the complex. Both of their proposals would have been massive skyscrapers, rising almost as high as the parapet of One World Trade Center. Foster’s four-diamond-topped design came out first in 2006, while Bjarke’s stepped profile resembling a cantilevering stack of building blocks was released in 2015. No announcement has been officially made on which design and proposal for Two World Trade Center will be selected. An anchor tenant is still needed in order for work to resume.
Looking up the four skyscrapers that currently make up the World Trade Center. Two World Trade Center would hopefully and eventually fill in the void in the middle of the photograph. Photo by Michael Young
Plans for the construction and completion of Five World Trade Center have only recently popped up. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation filed a request for proposals for the former site of the Deutsche Bank skyscraper. The Commercial Observer reported a possible joint development between Silverstein Properties and Brookfield Properties. Part of the site serves as security for the World Trade Center, and the other section is a public park. No details about a design, construction, and completion date have been stated.
Five World Trade Center will rise to the south and behind St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. Photo by Michael Young
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Thank you for this..
The one thing that you did not comment on was the construction of St. Nicholas Church. What is the status of its construction? It was my understanding that due to mismanagement of the funding, they have stopped, and the last time I was there, the site looks mothballed. Have they given up? Will anything else be done with that property? As Ground Zero continues to heal and develop, it is an eyesore.
As long as people live and remember that day, there can be no healing. Silverstein and (((gang))) made a real killing on this real estate. I wanted to go down there tonight but was exhausted from the 89 deg. , feel like 94 heat.
Please let me know if there is any new about the building of 520 West 41st Street owner Silverstein Properties.Thank you a lot.
I literally pray everyday that the Norman Foster 2WTC design is chosen. Imo, Bjarke’s design is distasteful, if not totally out of place with the rest of the site. Not a horrible looking building, just NOT at this site. Please!
..To answer your question, Donald, the last I read Governor Cuomo was seeking to jump start the remainder of construction on St. Nicholas Church. He’s seeking financing from seven deep pocket donors; one has already signed on, with the condition that the Archdiocese not be in charge of things. They have made a mess of the rebuilding process, with mismanagement of financial backing they received from the state and federal level, as well as from their own patrons. This was reported in late spring, hopefully we will see it start up before next year.. but then again, it’s the WTC. Progress moves slow here, but any progress is better than none. Cheers!
“The development has restored a vertical prowess to the Financial District and the Lower Manhattan skyline”
No it hasn’t. Only rebuilt Twin Towers could have done that.
Having lived in Manhattan since before 9/11, I have always found the entire WTC project to be an insult to those who lost their lives or those of us who survived the attacks although present at the site. The two open graves turning into a water amusement parks, the travesty of design allowed to the money-grabbing Silverstein (the same type of folks who destroyed Penn Station for a few extra bucks before they died themselves) just compound this. It IS A NATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL issue, not the issue of Silverstein pocketbook. He got billions from the insurance. He should have been pushed aside and a national committee appoint for reconstruction. Instead we got two open graves and a bulky building with huge garage doors on four sides, and a bagel and toothpicks on the top. That is the “respect” we gave the dead, we gave the American public, and the American ingenuity of design!!