its cool to know that portland had something to do in building this landmark tower
Portland firm wins Freedom Tower bid
New York - Benson Industries' Gresham factory will build the glass skin for the landmark replacing the World Trade Center
Saturday, April 28, 2007
JONATHAN BRINCKMAN
Portland's Benson Industries will build and install the windows in New York City's Freedom Tower, a 103-floor building rising on the site of the World Trade Center buildings destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The bomb- and fire-resistant windows will be made in Benson's Gresham factory, adding an undetermined number of jobs. The $160.65 million contract with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- the biggest in Benson's 81-year history -- is worth more than half of Benson's 2006 revenue of $250 million.
But the project's importance extends beyond the bottom line for a company that installs glass exteriors on buildings throughout the world, said John Beaulieu, a Benson manager.
"Personally, I think this is the most important building in the world," Beaulieu said. "Our national pride is wrapped around this building in a lot of ways. When the nation sees this building completed, and lit up at night, it will mean a lot."
Freedom Tower a coup for company
Design - Architects say Benson Industries is in a class by itself on creating high-rise exteriors
Saturday, April 28, 2007
JONATHAN BRINCKMAN and RANDY GRAGG
The announcement Friday by Benson Industries -- of a $160.65 million contract to build and install the windows of New York City's Freedom Tower -- comes after a long and convoluted journey for the company.
The deal was worth the wait. The job, on what will become one of the world's most prominent buildings, will be a showcase for a company already known in development circles for its skilled glass work.
Benson submitted its first proposal for the job in August 2004, just shy of three years after terrorists destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Then, after a cornerstone was laid in 2004, the proposed tower was relocated.
The first tower design looked great, soaring with a dramatic twist. But it didn't include enough square feet to make it affordable.
At 1,776 feet, the redesigned Freedom Tower, including an antenna, will be the tallest building in North America. Its 103 floors are fewer than the 110 in Chicago's Sears Tower. But that building is 1,450 feet tall, 1,725 to the top of its tallest antenna.
Then came a new financial problem: New York developer Larry Silverstein had the right to build five office towers at the destroyed World Trade Center complex. But Silverstein couldn't afford to build all the replacement buildings quickly enough to satisfy The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the land.
The authority and Silverstein struck a deal about a year ago that made the public agency the developer. Benson submitted a revised bid last fall, and the authority's commissioners granted the contract on Wednesday.
"It's been thorough and extensive process," Lou Niles, Benson's president and majority owner, said Friday.
Benson, which has done the exteriors for high-rise buildings around the globe, is ready for this job, said Robert Thompson of TVA Architects, who has worked with the company on projects in Portland.
"Benson operates in their own world. They are unparalleled by any other glazing contractor. From the standpoint of innovation -- look, the feel, the ideas -- they understand how to put a system together," he said.
"They bring such solid research to every project," said John Meadows of Boora Architects who worked with Benson in the Pearl District. "Portland is incredibly fortunate to have their knowledge base here.
"The upside of the Freedom Tower contract is that it (Benson) will be even more amazing. The downside is that not every project can afford them."
Benson's job will be to install about a million square feet of exterior glass that is specially designed to minimize the impact of a terrorist attack, said John Beaulieu, the company's estimating manager.
"The building is designed to withstand any type of attack so we don't have a repeat of what happened," Beaulieu said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Jonathan Brinckman: 503-221-8190;
[email protected]
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