NEW YORK | One World Trade Center | 1,776' Pinnacle / 1,373' Roof | 108 FLOORS

[NYguy]

NY Post

VANTONE'S BACK FOR MORE
CHINESE REALTY FIRM WITH 'PAST' IN NEW BID FOR FREEDOM TOWER LEASE

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04032007/photos/business040.jpg_http://www.nypost.com/seven/04032007/photos/business041.jpg


April 3, 2007 -- BEIJING Vantone, the Chinese real estate development company that walked away from two signed leases Downtown, says it's still serious about opening a "China Center" in Lower Manhattan.

China Center New York Executive Director Xue Ya acknowledged that "Our reputation has been hurt" by Vantone's pullouts from done deals at 7 World Trade Center last summer and at 195 Broadway last month.

But she pleaded for "understanding" and insisted the company had acted in good faith.

A brochure promoting its intended home at 7 WTC last year described it as "a dynamic hub for Chinese firms developing U.S. operations, and for U.S. companies wishing to conduct business in China." The center was to include an executive business club, conference center and travel center.

Vantone remains committed to that goal, Ya said - possibly at the top of the Freedom Tower, where besides being a tenant, "We want to participate in it," with the Port Authority, although she did not specify what sort of partnership she was referring to.

Real Estate and PA officials confirmed "serious" but "very preliminary" talks for about 400,000 square feet on the "iconic" tower's highest floors. PA spokesman John McCarthy said, "We'll need to be comfortable they demonstrate the financial capacity to move forward."

Vantone has a lotta 'splainin' to do after walk-aways from done deals left mud on its face. It made things awkward for two New Yorkers of unblemished reputations - Jones Lang LaSalle Regional President Peter Riguardi, Vantone's broker, and New York City Partnership President Kathryn Wylde, a strong advocate for Vantone's quest to launch a New York base.

Vantone thrust itself into Ground Zero politics by expressing interest in the Freedom Tower three years ago. When the project fell behind schedule, Vantone turned to 7 WTC, which was going up.

The company signed a term sheet with Larry Silverstein, a step that prompted then Gov. Pataki to prematurely stage a photo-op at the site.

The lease for the top five floors was later signed. But Silverstein cancelled the deal when he said Vantone "repeatedly" reneged on a $45 million letter of credit.

Ya says it was Silverstein's fault for rejecting the credit letter that Vantone ultimately produced. A spokesman for Silverstein said Vantone never produced the letter, but "wishes them the best."

Vantone claimed that Silverstein dumped the deal for 200,000 square feet when the market improved and found he could get $50-plus rents for 7 WTC, compared with the $45 Vantone would pay.

But no such case could be made at 195 Broadway nearby, owned by L&L Acquisitions' David W. Levinson and Robert T. Lapidus.

Vantone and L&L signed and counter-signed a lease for 120,000 square feet last month. Company Chairman Feng Lun flew in to sign it himself and promised the letter of credit - but again didn't deliver it.

Ya claims to have been surprised, too. In February, she was called back to China. Vantone's board "made a final business decision" not to go ahead, she said, because "Our Chinese bank had changed its conditions for the letter of credit." Levinson had no comment yesterday.

The timing of Vantone's exit there raises an impolite question. Vantone wanted to be in the Freedom Tower from the start - because, Ya said, the Chinese expect offices to be in new, instantly identifiable buildings, and "It's very hard for Chinese people to recognize" older New York addresses as valuable.

Vantone turned to 7 WTC and 195 Broadway only when the ultra-tall tower's timetable became unpredictable.

Then, last month, Gov. Spitzer backed the Freedom Tower after predictions he would delay it again. The news broke on Feb. 21, the day after we reported on the broken lease at 195 Broadway.

But could Lun have known about Spitzer's intentions earlier than that? Would it have given Vantone reason to find a way out of the lease with L&L?

Asked those questions yesterday, Ya first said, "I think a very minor part," but then denied knowing about Spitzer's green-lighting the Freedom Tower "until I read it in the paper."

Riguardi said, "Having visited their developments in Beijing, I feel strongly this is an organization committed to New York. But like any prudent business, they have to make sure they make the right deal.

"A lot is involved in doing business between the U.S. and China and it's going to take time."

Wylde said, "the business relationship between New York and China is extremely important to the city's future, which is why we've supported Vantone's efforts to bring more Chinese companies here."

http://www.nypost.com/img/cols/stevecuozzo.jpg

[Daquan13]

Well, at least the tower is getting a big time tenant.

They had eyed office space in the tower before when they were about to complete the final negotiations for 7 WTC.

That pic must be an old one during happier times back when Silverstein and Ya were friends. I think they're still bitter enemies even today.

[Ghost]

Nothing new, but what a great view! Cranes everywhere!
http://i12.tinypic.com/2lo63ok.jpg

[Daquan13]

At least the Goldman Sacs Tower's steel has started rising though (background right).

We probably could have had both the Goldman & Freedom Towers rising almost simutaneoulsy if it wasn't for Pataki jurking the plans for Ground Zero around for so long!

[Urban Sky]

^^ yah, that would have been nice....thanks pataki.

[NYguy]

Nothing new, but what a great view! Cranes everywhere!
http://i12.tinypic.com/2lo63ok.jpg

Only the beginning. Just wait until next year...

[ZZ-II]

hopefully it'll rise now with a good progress

[CoolCzech]

At the very least, we've finally arrived at the point that no one can whine anymore that "nothing is happening at Ground Zero."

[NYguy]

At the very least, we've finally arrived at the point that no one can whine anymore that "nothing is happening at Ground Zero."

Any minute now....:haha: ....Wait for it...wait....

[Daquan13]

Oh, why are they taking so long...... Just kidding. Haha!!

Next year though, seeing the four towers sprout up all at once will truly be something to behold!!

[CoolCzech]

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/

West Street Lanes Reduced Starting April 9th

Beginning Monday, April 9th, northbound West Street (Route 9A) from Liberty to Vesey Streets will be reduced to two lanes as part of the city’s search for human remains. The lane reduction allows Office of the Chief Medical Examiner investigators to excavate and search for possible remains of 9/11 victims inside sub-grade tunnels and ducts that linked to the World Trade Center matrix.

The lane reduction is being coordinated by the New York City Department of Transportation (CDOT) and is scheduled to conclude by Sunday, May 13, 2007. Three southbound lanes are planned to remain open throughout the project, though temporary closures of one southbound lane may be necessary.

CDOT is advising motorists to take alternate routes or use mass transit during the five-week project. To help maintain safe traffic flow, traffic enforcement agents will be stationed at critical intersections. Additionally, variable message signs will be used at critical intersections, and alternate-route signs will be placed on streets near West Street.

[NYguy]

APRIL 8, 2007

A view from a distance...

http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/76895677/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/76895680/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/76895687/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/76895689/large.jpg

[Daquan13]

At least the Goldman Sacs Tower's steel has started rising though (background right).

We probably could have had both the Goldman & Freedom Towers rising almost simutaneoulsy if it wasn't for Pataki jurking the plans for Ground Zero around for so long!



On the other hand, even though the other 4 towers will start being built next year, we probably won't see steel rising for then until the following year.

[Scruffy]

At the very least, we've finally arrived at the point that no one can whine anymore that "nothing is happening at Ground Zero."

This is true. Every single part of the site has something going on.

WESTERN TUB
Freedom Tower site. Beyond it is the foundations and all for the memorial.
these pics taken a week ago
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC03515.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC03516.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC03517.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC03518.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC03519.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC03522.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC03530.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC03532.jpg

Eastern side, they are still digging out a tub. pics 2-3 weeks old
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC03437.jpg

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i210/Scruffy69/DSC03436.jpg

[Daquan13]

But don't forget, we also have 7 WTC to admire.

Something to ease the waiting at least until the Freedom Tower's steel starts rising next year.

[Ghost]

http://i11.tinypic.com/311rwg3.jpg

[colemonkee]

Well, well, well. That's a site for sore eyes. Thank you, Ghost!

[Thskyscraper]

Ah! The first crane is going up. Cool.

[NYguy]

NY Post

VANTONE'S BACK FOR MORE
CHINESE REALTY FIRM WITH 'PAST' IN NEW BID FOR FREEDOM TOWER LEASE

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04032007/photos/business040.jpg_http://www.nypost.com/seven/04032007/photos/business041.jpg

Meanwhile, more on "Freedomgate"...

(NY Post)

LEAK TO CHINA
FOREIGN FIRM GOT TIPOFF

http://www.nypost.com/img/cols/stevecuozzo.jpg

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04102007/photos/oped029.jpg

Blindsided: The leak left egg on the faces of New York Partnership President Kathryn Wylde (above) and realtor Peter Riguardi.


April 10, 2007 -- A COMPANY effectively controlled by the government of China got a heads-up on major Ground Zero news in February, according to my sources.

The American press and public were kept in the dark - but Beijing Vantone, the Chinese real-estate-development company, got word of Gov. Spitzer's surprise decision to green-light the Freedom Tower.

Public officials categorically denied tipping off Vantone or even knowing of Spitzer's decision before he announced it on Feb. 20. Vantone's New York-based representative also denies the account. But my sources say Vantone was told by someone that Spitzer would back the Freedom Tower - which he once called a "white elephant" and was expected to further delay or cancel.

The sources say the tipoff was the real reason Vantone shocked the real-estate world by pulling out of a signed lease at 195 Broadway, one block east of Ground Zero.

Vantone has long wanted to set up a "China Center" at the top of the Freedom Tower, but had given up on the idea when the project seemed destined to spin its wheels indefinitely.

It first sought an alternative home at Larry Silverstein's new 7 World Trade Center, but that deal fell apart last summer. It then began negotiations for 195 Broadway, and signed the lease with the building owners in early February.

Several days later, however, Vantone said it couldn't get the necessary letter of credit. That killed the deal - one week before Spitzer publicly endorsed the Freedom Tower.

That left the owners of 195 Broadway, a city landmark with an illustrious history, still seeking a user for the building's top floors. It also cost Downtown the move-in of a prestigious company. Even if Vantone takes space in the Freedom Tower, it'll be years down the road.

The primary fault lies with Vantone for breaking a signed lease, no matter what its reasons - a lesson the Port Authority should keep in mind as it talks to the company about a possible Freedom Tower lease.

But that doesn't excuse the big mouth that leaked the news.

My sources' account is highly credible, for several reasons. First, the timing of Vantone's retreat from 195 Broadway is otherwise inexplicable. Second, it's not a single account: Several well-informed executives say flatly, but not for attribution, that that was what happened.

Meanwhile, Vantone's account is highly dubious. It simply blamed the deal-breaking failure to produce the letter of credit on its bank in China - which is another government-controlled business. (That failing was perhaps the only way Vantone could get out of its lease without being sued for breach of contract.)

The pullout from 195 Broadway embarrassed two prominent New Yorkers in Vantone's camp - Kathryn Wylde, the president of the Partnership for New York City, who has counseled Vantone on launching China Center here, as well as its real-estate broker, Peter Riguardi, the regional president of Jones Lang LaSalle.

Few involved will speak for the record. The Port Authority acknowledges meeting with Vantone officials "several times" to discuss Vantone's interest in 400,000 square feet in the Freedom Tower before Spitzer publicly endorsed the project. But the PA denies knowing at those times that the governor would bless the tower, much less telling Vantone that he would.

A source close to the Empire State Development Corp./Downstate similarly denies any such heads-up was given to Vantone at a Feb. 7 meeting that included ESDC Chairman Patrick J. Foye.

But Vantone could've also gotten word from any of several prominent individuals active in Downtown rebuilding and planning - people who don't work for the state or the PA, but who said they knew in advance of Spitzer's change of heart.

The Post first reported Vantone's lease-breaking at 195 Broadway on Feb. 20, the same day Spitzer declared he'd go ahead with the Freedom Tower. But Vantone actually scuttled the deal a week earlier, when it told the building's shocked owners that it couldn't produce the credit letter despite promises from its chairman, Fen Lung.

Despite Vantone's unreliable track record, the PA would love to land it as a Freedom Tower tenant. Vantone's stated purpose - to be "the unequivocal center of Chinese corporate and cultural life in New York City" - justifies the name "World Trade Center" in way that the tower's only current prospective tenants - U.S. and state government bureaucracies - simply don't.

A Vantone move into the top 10 floors, which the company wants, would also take care of the tower's priciest, hardest-to-rent portion, and might help allay other companies' fears of another terrorist attack.

With so much at stake for the Freedom Tower, the bellwether of Ground Zero commercial renewal, it seems almost reasonable to spot Vantone every benefit of the doubt. But it shouldn't mean giving them an unfair advantage at the rest of Downtown's expense.

[NYguy]

http://i11.tinypic.com/311rwg3.jpg

And so it quietly begins...

[CarlosV]

^ this is ridiculous...6 years and barely anything .....

[hoosier]

^ this is ridiculous...6 years and barely anything .....

Patience grasshopper.:haha:

BTW, you have been busy these past couple of days!!:cheers:

[Daquan13]

Ah! The first crane is going up. Cool.



Yeah, I just happened to notice that. A tower in the center of that pic is being erected for the first crane.

[NYguy]

^ this is ridiculous...6 years and barely anything .....


Barely anything, but construction in ground zero only started last year.

[CarlosV]

^
I know, I know, i am just so excited about this..yet to me it seems to be crawling at a snail's pace at the NYC marathon!!! :(

[chex]

in the last pic of the bunch.... not the one with the crane.... but the one with the workers in blue... are they standing in part of the original foundation of the wtc?

[mcdonnell77]

When will we start to see some building?

[NYguy]

When will we start to see some building?


When it rises, no doubt...

[NYguy]

Port Authority photos from last month...


http://www.pathrestoration.com/drp/images/gallery/wtcth/2007/03/fredmtwr07.jpg


http://www.pathrestoration.com/drp/images/gallery/wtcth/2007/03/fredmtwr06.jpg

[NYguy]

Overall sight construction...(Port Authority)

http://www.pathrestoration.com/drp/images/WTCSiteOverlay6.jpg

[CoolCzech]

The Record

A jampacked future rises at Ground Zero
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

By DAVID A. MICHAELS
STAFF WRITER


Only last fall, this hallowed ground was a hollow place.

Private developers and government officials were still negotiating how to build and pay for the World Trade Center's renewal. On an island where towers sprout like cornstalks, Ground Zero remained the bare patch.

But on Tuesday, as Port Authority officials toured the site, they could point to the signs of renewal: concrete walls that mark the boundaries of the World Trade Center Memorial, steel columns and tower cranes that will permit construction of the Freedom Tower, and a plan to incorporate the Trade Center's original slurry wall into the memorial.

"Clearly there has been a shift of momentum to the positive," said Port Authority Chairman Anthony R. Coscia.

Even so, rebuilding remains a challenge, officials said. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is managing the construction of the memorial and the Freedom Tower, is fitting more into the 16 acres than previously existed. The project also must accommodate PATH trains and a new transportation hub.

"This is a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle," said Steven Plate, the Port Authority's director of construction at the site. "It is probably the most complex project I've seen in my entire life."

About 300 orange-vested workers ply their trades inside the crater, known as the "bathtub," as trucks trundle up and down a long ramp.

The 10-acre memorial, which will begin rising later this year, requires 4,000 cubic yards of concrete and 11,000 tons of steel. When complete, the $500 million memorial will feature a plaza with two reflecting pools where the Twin Towers stood. Visitors will walk among 418 trees and 100 benches.

Museum exhibits will be underneath the plaza, where the authority is making an effort to expose between 20 and 62 feet of the slurry wall, which holds back the Hudson River, and its giant steel supports, known as tie-downs.

A road, Fulton Street, will separate the memorial from the Freedom Tower, scheduled to be open by 2011. The skyscraper's foundation is in place, as are 14 steel columns that rise 60 feet on the site's northern edge. Twenty-seven columns will be in place by the end of spring.

The authority is building the tower at time when construction costs are soaring. Cost estimates for both the Freedom Tower and the PATH hub have risen. The authority is working with architect Santiago Calatrava to scale back some features of the PATH hub and keep it within its original budget.

"We're going to have to manage our way through it," Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris said.

Three other skyscrapers, built by developer Larry Silverstein, are planned for the site. By 2013, they will occupy the eastern edge.

Fund-raising for the memorial has been encouraging, said Joseph C. Daniels, president of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. The foundation has raised $253 million of the $350 million it intends to collect. The Port Authority and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. are funding the rest.

"The public is investing in this project because they see all the progress," Daniels said. "They see we are building what we said we would build."

What's next

• The Port Authority will award contracts for the steel for the memorial within two months.

• In late 2007 or early 2008, steel for the memorial will begin rising, bringing the project up to street level.

• The authority will build a new slurry wall on the site's western edge to keep water from seeping in.




E-mail: michaels@northjersey.com

[CoolCzech]

The Star Ledger

P.A. expects to begin building 9/11 memorial this year
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
BY RON MARSICO
Star-Ledger Staff
Steel girders to form the base of the 9/11 memorial should start rising by year's end from the depths of Ground Zero, officials with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said yesterday.

About 2,000 cubic yards of concrete already has been poured for the foundation, including shear walls for support and footings, agency officials said. About 50 construction workers have been dedicated to the project, slated for completion in 2009. A memorial museum is expected to open the following year.

"In April of last year, we were still arguing about who would build it, how we would pay for it," said Anthony Coscia, chairman of the Port Authority. "In one year, that's a pretty dramatic turn."

Last year, officials announced they were capping the costs for the memorial at $510 million, with another $178 million for infrastructure improvements. The Port Authority agreed to contribute up to $195 million toward those costs. Private fundraising also has been ongoing.

Coscia's comments are part of an ongoing effort by the bistate agency to provide updates about Ground Zero, now that visible progress has been made on the long- stalled redevelopment of the former World Trade Center site. The Port Authority also is in charge of the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower, the site's signature structure, and the permanent PATH rail hub that will provide connections to subways and ferries in Lower Manhattan.

Last year, after protracted delays and acrimony, the Port Authority and the site's lease-holder, Larry Silverstein, renegotiated redevelopment plans to give the agency control of the Freedom Tower and Silverstein rights to three other skyscrapers. Subse quently, the Port Authority also took control of the 9/11 memorial, which will pay homage to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Though scaled back to contain costs, architect Michael Arad's design, "Reflecting Absence," still calls for two reflecting pools with waterfalls to symbolize the voids where the Twin Towers once stood. Controversy continues to surround the official decision to arrange the names of victims on the memorial randomly.

[Scruffy]

ladies and gentleman. I may be wrong. Its happened before. Am I looking at... the beginnings of the central core!!!!

3/11/07
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/DSC03910.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/DSC03907.jpg

[Scruffy]

and some more shots. Pardon the quality, some were shot through a safety netting.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/DSC03908.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/DSC03906.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/DSC03901.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/DSC03900.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/DSC03899.jpg

[Scruffy]

plus the area of the memorial

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/DSC03903.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/DSC03902.jpg

[M.K.]

I always was with the oppinion America is fast doing something, but it is not the case this building. Seems to be in Africa built. Do they or not have the technology doing it faster??? Or they want to remember the Ground zero forever? How lazy is that.... I can't believe.... :angel: What the hell those guys are waiting for to raise this shit up? :gaah:

[STERNyc]

ladies and gentleman. I may be wrong. Its happened before. Am I looking at... the beginnings of the central core!!!!

Scruff. Im no engineer but that is the central concrete core you're looking at and that is a crane for the Freedom Tower, which indicates that we will see real activity very shortly. The crane will be there for the long-haul and will rise with the core. The kangaroo crane is not a new concept for the WTC, the original WTC had four set in the central core, which was made of steel compared to the concrete core of the Freedom Tower.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~davidbos/wtc_construction/wtc1_core.jpg

I never use icons.

But....

:banana: :banana: :banana: :notacrook: :notacrook: :notacrook: :worship: :worship: :worship: :worship: :tup: :tup: :tup: :tup: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :D :D :D

[ATLksuGUY]

I always was with the oppinion America is fast doing something, but it is not the case this building. Seems to be in Africa built. Do they or not have the technology doing it faster??? Or they want to remember the Ground zero forever? How lazy is that.... I can't believe.... :angel: What the hell those guys are waiting for to raise this shit up? :gaah:

If they build it IMMEDIATELY as a replacement to the World Trade Center then it becomes a target again. The longer it takes and less attention for the WTC "re-development", the less these so called terrorists and others will consider it a replacement, and therefore less likely to consider it another target. I may be wrong but ive always had a suspicion that the delays were possibly for this reason. PLZ this is my opinion and its prob wrong but just an idea.

[STERNyc]

If they build it IMMEDIATELY as a replacement to the World Trade Center then it becomes a target again. The longer it takes and less attention for the WTC "re-development", the less these so called terrorists and others will consider it a replacement, and therefore less likely to consider it another target. I may be wrong but ive always had a suspicion that the delays were possibly for this reason. PLZ this is my opinion and its prob wrong but just an idea.

That's not the reason. Once construction started it has been on schedule, it take awhile to complete the foundations of a supertall building.

[Adyton]

PANYNJ would NOT purposely delay construction especially when construction costs are rising 1-2% per month AND they must meet their contractual deadlines for Silverstein by completing the eastern bathtub for towers 2-4 or face HEAVY fines starting daily after the deadline.

It is in PANYNJ's interest to complete the construction as quickly as possible to save money and time:D

[Scruffy]

the honest reason why everything was so delayed was the classic "too many cooks in the kitchen" anology. everyone wanted a hand in this. Its a piece of history and you're immortalized if you are the person that got the world trade center rebuilt. You had Silverstein who owned the site trying to recoup a massive investment that he lost. You have a dirty politician out to make a bigger name for himself and use the sentimental value of the rebuilding towards a presidential nominee. You have a mayor (who i'm a fan of) but looked at the whole situation as a business deal which made him run into the biggest setback, the victim's families. They mean well, they feel cheated but endless lawsuits, protests, marches, press conferences, made everyone on edge. The politicians trying to make nice with the families ended up conceding to stupid things which would push the design process back. then you have the circus of the design competition. they end up choosing a design that was unbuildable. then the bring in a second architect and they design the infamous birdcage tower. the whole time i guess they never thought to talk to cops, feds, and fdny about safety tips. the cops shut down the design and we're pushed back again. Then came money issues. insurance companies who i have always thought were the scum of the earth. even before 9/11, before katrina, before hugo and andrew and CA forest fires. scum. they didn't want to pay up. but that got settled and now we have new and significantly better towers. we have a central core in progess. everything seems to finally be working. Honestly with so many people wanting a hand in this, i didn't even mention the PA or the feds, or the white house using this whole site as a sympathy button, Im amazed we are as far along as we are.

[Dalton]

If they build it IMMEDIATELY as a replacement to the World Trade Center then it becomes a target again. The longer it takes and less attention for the WTC "re-development", the less these so called terrorists and others will consider it a replacement, and therefore less likely to consider it another target. I may be wrong but ive always had a suspicion that the delays were possibly for this reason. PLZ this is my opinion and its prob wrong but just an idea.

What's with the "so called terrorists"? Not to be nitpicky here, but there's a "so called" hole where the "so called" WTC once stood. Nearly 3000 "so called" innocent people were murdered. I think it was a "so called" atrocity committed by terrorists. Not "so called" terrorists.

[CGII]

If they build it IMMEDIATELY as a replacement to the World Trade Center then it becomes a target again. The longer it takes and less attention for the WTC "re-development", the less these so called terrorists and others will consider it a replacement, and therefore less likely to consider it another target. I may be wrong but ive always had a suspicion that the delays were possibly for this reason. PLZ this is my opinion and its prob wrong but just an idea.

Well the later we demolish Sears Tower, the Pentagon, the White House, the Capitol, the ESB, and every other majour US landmark, the sooner they become 'targets.' :rolleyes:

[GarCastle]

It takes long since it is a complicated project. It is not built anywhere they feel like putting it or where it would fit best or where the tourists might light to take their photos (U.A.E.). It's in the middle of a packed city surrounded by water with underground transportation all over the place, gas mains, water mains, layers of sewer and drainage systems over a hundred years old. There are high expectations and countless critics lining up (some of which are obviously in this thread). There are high emotions. Millions of commuters that have to be considered when re-routing transit, even when just bringing in concrete trucks by the dozens.

"Dear New York, I know a lot has changed. 2 towers down but you're still in the game. Home of the many, rejecting no one, accepting peoples of all places, wherever they're from."
--if you need to google that one, well sorry heh, you have no right to talk...

I shopped many a time in Bleecker Bob's growing up. Great times.

[Ghost]

EarthCams HD IS BACK!!! Wohoo!
Ground Zero cams (http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/groundzero/#)
http://images.earthcam.com/archives/gzmp/gzmp/2007/04/12/1914.jpg

[STERNyc]

I dunno. Looking at that picture I dont think where the footing is for the crane, is the whole core, it looks way too small. It so hard to figure things out when you're this early into construction.

[DMAG]

Looks like another section has been added to the crane

http://intrepidatious.dodgeintrepid.net/misc/towercrane.jpg

[Daquan13]

Yeah, it looks to be above street level now.

And according to a post someone recently wrote, more of those steel columns were supposed to have been added.

[DMAG]

I'm not getting the EarthCam HD webcam....I still see the morning pics from 9/11/2006 on it. (??)

[Ghost]

Yea, it's not there yet, but if you look at live cameras, there's 4 of them now. Second to left is HD, go to archive and enlarge picture and drag it to adress bar. That's the easiest way to do that.

And the crane is getting it's top portion installed :) I think it will be all up today!

[DMAG]

Yea, it's not there yet, but if you look at live cameras, there's 4 of them now. Second to left is HD, go to archive and enlarge picture and drag it to adress bar. That's the easiest way to do that.

And the crane is getting it's top portion installed :) I think it will be all up today!

We spoke too soon...its up on the regular HD page now.

Thanks!

[-GR2NY-]

*goes back in time to late 2001 and cue's jeapordy music, then notices that the music is still appropriate*

[DUBAI2015]

Can somebody give me a link to the new webcam :)

[Daquan13]

Lower Manhattan Development Corp should have it.

That's where I've been looking.

[Dougall5505]

here it is: http://www.earthcam.net/users2/interface.php?i=0&id=445&projectid=202&clientid=158

[Independence]

The crane top is in position :D :cheers:

[NYguy]

ladies and gentleman. I may be wrong. Its happened before. Am I looking at... the beginnings of the central core!!!!

3/11/07
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c81/Scruffy88/DSC03910.jpg



How sweet it is. In honor of the crane, a look back at some earlier WTC construction. Photos taken from:
http://www.911research.wtc7.net/wtc/evidence/plans/index.html

(note the closeness of the Hudson)


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134688/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134715/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134716/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134694/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134704/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134712/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134714/original.jpg

[Daquan13]

Great pis, NYguy!

I NEVER got to see this in person. Almost as if they are being rebuilt today.

[NYguy]

Great pis, NYguy!

I NEVER got to see this in person. Almost as if they are being rebuilt today.

I never saw it in person either, which is what makes what's happening today and in the coming years so special. We'll be witnessing an even larger WTC construction scene.

[Ghost]

I never saw it in person either, which is what makes what's happening today and in the coming years so special. We'll be witnessing an even larger WTC construction scene.
Well I gues I'm quite lucky then, I once visited WTC, and I also were on the top. It was in the 90's and I was 11 years old, so it was really exciting :haha:

[Daquan13]

Yes! And on that note, I'm going to steal a page from The Rock:

Finally. Long-awaited major construction HAS COME BACK....to Ground Zero!!
If ya smeeeeelllllll what the Freedom Tower......., is cooking!!:banana:

[Ghost]

Actually, can we call it Ground Zero anymore? It's not completely empty anymore, not even slightly.

[DUBAI2015]

How about the NWTC?

(edit) I can now see the long steel beam that attaches to the crane on the floor!

[STERNyc]

Well I gues I'm quite lucky then, I once visited WTC, and I also were on the top. It was in the 90's and I was 11 years old, so it was really exciting :haha:

Im positive NYGUY is talking about the construction of the towers is what he didn't see. I remember seeing pics from NYGUY from the WTC's observatory.

[Tom In Chicago]

Cool historic photos of WTC. . . thanks for posting. . .

[Daquan13]

Im positive NYGUY is talking about the construction of the towers is what he didn't see. I remember seeing pics from NYGUY from the WTC's observatory.



Yes, that's what my reply was about to him earlier. Incidently, I didn't get to see the new 7 WTC's construction in person either. Only when the tower's foundation was being put in.

But I WILL go to Ground Zero this coming summer to see the FT's construction though.

[DUBAI2015]

The first of four tower cranes that will build the Freedom Tower

http://freenet-homepage.de/tobyas333/Unbenannt2.gif

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5840/85755795il0.jpg

[Daquan13]

Four? Well, 7 WTC had three.

Where will the other three go? Shades of the former WTC towers when THEY were being built!

Haha!! A crane to erect a crane. Then it looks like the red crane will be hanging around there for quite a while.

Umm, anyone out there who might still have doubts about the tower?

[DUBAI2015]

The Freedom Tower will have 4 cranes. One on each corner of the core
http://freenet-homepage.de/tobyas333/Unbenannt2.gif
In this picture, the top-left crane has been installed.
And if you look closely, you can see squares to the right, bottom, and bottom right of the red X.
This is where the 3 other cranes will go :)

[Scruffy]

that impresses the hell out of me. look at the size of that crane being put up. the skill of these crane operators that will operate four these together and not slam into each other. impressive

[Daquan13]

Must you think of the bad things?

I hope that or anything else like that doesn't happen. When the formers were being built, eight people lost their lives in work-related accidents.

Ground Zero is no stranger to death.

[NYguy]

Well I gues I'm quite lucky then, I once visited WTC, and I also were on the top. It was in the 90's and I was 11 years old, so it was really exciting :haha:

We're talking about the original construction. I've been to the top of the WTC, the indoor and outdoor decks. Never for a second thought they would ever be taken away from us. Also used to commute through the WTC via PATH. Just the thought of what was there before being gone now is mind boggling. Once the new WTC is built though, it will be just as mind boggling at what ground zero has been these past few years. Where for the past few years it has been a pit of darkness, it will become the heartbeat of Downtown in the next few.

[NYguy]

The first of four tower cranes that will build the Freedom Tower

http://freenet-homepage.de/tobyas333/Unbenannt2.gif

A crane never looked so sweet.

[Realthang]

7 WTC had 2 cranes and 1 WTC will have 2 cranes...

[The Mad Hatter]

just a random question, but its been on my mind a long time, why is it that new york buildings dont use Tower cranes, but instead the ones that are the swinging type...?

[Daquan13]

Where have you been? Or better yet, what do you mean? The swinging type?
Are you talking about the old fashioned derrick such as the one that was used to construct the Empire State Buiding?

I can name a dozen or more skyscrapers that were built using tower cranes.

[DanyCan]

what the hell took so long?? Gald to see its finaly getting built.

[Ghost]

We're talking about the original construction.
Yeah I realised that afterwards but didn't bother to edit it...
That crane makes a truly really great sight! Now let's just sit back and watch :cool:
LowerManhattan.info

The following information was last updated on April 11, 2007.

Current activities for construction of the Freedom Tower include
* Installation of tower-foundation steel columns
* Pouring of concrete for the foundation and rebar installation
* Start of layout for PATH track-side barriers; installation of barrier wall

[M.K.]

That crane makes a truly really great sight! Now let's just sit back and watch :cool:
I would complete: Let's JUST sit back and watch and sleep for a while, because this shit is not going to raise up for long from now as I noticed. Are North-Americans be so lazy or they want to sell more entrances to climb the Empire States as the tallest in NYC for more long time??? :haha:
Ok, Empire States was the tallest for long time from '40s before the 1st WTC be constructed, then was surpassed. The 2 towers WTC then became the tallest for long time in NYC from '70s. Now the 1st WTC is gone, so the Empire States is already the tallest in NYC again. But common on, it was already 6 years the WTC has gone and Empire States the mark again for NYC. Is not enough 6 years selling tickets? Do you want more money to make climbing this tower? The history turns around again and let's built the 2nd WTC to be the tallest in NYC surpassing again the Empire States. Wake up people and rise up this thing.!!!!!!:slob: :slob: :slob: I lost the attention, enthusiam and patience waiting for this Freedom that never comes. Makes me sick seeing this Ground Zero for ever.

[Aleks]

this is really cool i didnt like the new design at first but it grew on me

[Daquan13]

I would complete: Let's JUST sit back and watch and sleep for a while, because this shit is not going to raise up for long from now as I noticed. Are North-Americans be so lazy or they want to sell more entrances to climb the Empire States as the tallest in NYC for more long time??? :haha:
Ok, Empire States was the tallest for long time from '40s before the 1st WTC be constructed, then was surpassed. The 2 towers WTC then became the tallest for long time in NYC from '70s. Now the 1st WTC is gone, so the Empire States is already the tallest in NYC again. But common on, it was already 6 years the WTC has gone and Empire States the mark again for NYC. Is not enough 6 years selling tickets? Do you want more money to make climbing this tower? The history turns around again and let's built the 2nd WTC to be the tallest in NYC surpassing again the Empire States. Wake up people and rise up this thing.!!!!!!:slob: :slob: :slob: I lost the attention, enthusiam and patience waiting for this Freedom that never comes. Makes me sick seeing this Ground Zero for ever.



The WTB for a long time? Two years isn't very long.

Considering the the first WTC towers were the WTB's for only two years, that is a relatively short time to hold that title.

[NYguy]

[INDENT]
I would complete: Let's JUST sit back and watch and sleep for a while, because this shit is not going to raise up for long from now as I noticed. Are North-Americans be so lazy or they want to sell more entrances to climb the Empire States as the tallest in NYC for more long time??? :haha:

Yeah, that's it....:rolleyes:

Out of the woodwork, as promised....

At the very least, we've finally arrived at the point that no one can whine anymore that "nothing is happening at Ground Zero."

[Daquan13]

what the hell took so long?? Gald to see its finaly getting built.



This member just did. Haha!!

But I'm sure that we ALL did at one time or another. But this year and next, things should really start to get in gear, and business will pickup fast, as practically the whole 16 acres of land will be bustling with cunstruction equipment, workers and building materials.

[CoolCzech]

Yeah, that's it....:rolleyes:

Out of the woodwork, as promised....

Damn you, NYguy, do you HAVE to be so accurate? :haha:

[Lecom]

Finally.

All these years.

[NYguy]

Damn you, NYguy, do you HAVE to be so accurate? :haha:

It's a curse...;)

[2-TOWERS]

The New Wtc Will Be Steel And A Concrete Core, While The Bd Will Be All Reinforced Concrete And Steel Rebar, They Claim The Bd Method Is Better Then Steel.

[Daquan13]

Supposedly re-enforced concrete won't burn as quickly as steel will.

[wong21fr]

Thought you guys would like this Earthcam picture:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/191/464347837_35ec502318_b.jpg

[NYguy]

It's nice, but what's most interesting in that photo is the progress being made
down in the new tub (lower left), the site of towers 3 and 4...

Thought you guys would like this Earthcam picture:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/191/464347837_35ec502318_b.jpg

[Thskyscraper]

This is so exciting. I need to get down there and see this for my-self!

[JACKinBeantown]

I don't quite understand exactly where the northwest corner of the French Tower will be. It seems that the PATH train tracks cut it off.

[Crunked Up]

How sweet it is. In honor of the crane, a look back at some earlier WTC construction. Photos taken from:
http://www.911research.wtc7.net/wtc/evidence/plans/index.html

(note the closeness of the Hudson)


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134688/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134715/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134716/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134694/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134704/large.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134712/original.jpg


http://www.pbase.com/nyguy/image/77134714/original.jpg

Goddamn, it's hard to believe that those babies collapsed. Look at all that steel...

[Daquan13]

I don't quite understand exactly where the northwest corner of the French Tower will be. It seems that the PATH train tracks cut it off.



I think the outline of the tower in that spot will just clear the PATH track.

Yeah, great pic, wong!! The first towering crane for the Freedom Tower is really showing its dominance now!:banana:

[BrandonJXN]

Is that a pile driver on the site on tower 3?

[winst69]

I don't quite understand exactly where the northwest corner of the French Tower will be. It seems that the PATH train tracks cut it off.

Freedom Tower will sit over the tracks when it is built

[northface]

when does the core and steel come above street level?

[DUBAI2015]

^ supposed to be in the summer. We'll wait and see.

(Daquan, I got your message :) )

[Daquan13]

Thank you.

The core work has already started. Steel above street level next year.

[NYguy]

Is that a pile driver on the site on tower 3?

Not sure what they're doing, but it's exciting!:yes: