OG photo by Jakob Halun
Here's a random alternate universe:
In the years following the attacks, architectural firms of all sizes clamored to design a replacement for the fallen World Trade Center towers, and control was eventually split between various real estate agencies with adequate funding provided to get the skyscrapers off the ground.
The first to go up was One World Trade Center, built at 150 Greenwich Street, encouraging an entire nation when ground broke in 2003 and whose striking diamonds continued to captivate worldwide visitors ever since the structure was topped out on the fifth anniversary of the attacks and opened a year later.
Following its completion, Silverstein Properties sought to build an identical twin north at 200 Greenwich, though plans for another luxurious diamond-shaped roof fell apart due to financing issues brought upon the agency by the Great Recession. In an effort to bring employees back, Silverstein made a gamble and constructed the new building, numbered Tower Four, on-spec, bringing a second supertall skyscraper into lower Manhattan for the first time in nearly a decade.
The early '10s passed, One and Four World Trade Center gained a notoriety as the "Fraternal Twin" Towers due to their identical foundation but differing upper halves. However, two sites at the complex remained undeveloped, with the recently-completed Performing Arts Center and Transportation Hub simply not being large enough to cover the entire areas.
Then came 2015, when Brookfield Properties successfully persuaded News Corp to finance a tower of their own at the site, constructing a block-shaped structure, unchronologically named Two World Trade Center, directly north of tower one, situated between it and the transit hub. This tower was completed and opened by 2019, and became known as the "big brother who stops the twins from quarreling."
Lastly, the site at 275 Fulton Street had remained dormant these years and speculation was that it would be converted into a park, or otherwise extension of the memorial. These rumors were only strengthened following the COVID-19 pandemic which dealt away with the necessity of in-person offices. However, following high unemployment rates and surging demand for work due to the overpopulation of the Hudson Yards Affordable Residential Complex, Brookfield sought to complete the WTC and construct tower Three. Ground broke in 2021 and the tower has climbed into the sky since then, with an opening expected next year. Social Media has dubbed it "Tree World Trade Center" due to its extensive greenery on the outside, which has been dubbed an attractive factor for office leasing.