NEW YORK | 5 World Trade Center | 920 FT | FLOORS

[Dac150]

When given the size of the physical site, it wouldn’t make sense to build anything but a commercial building. In a sense, this could be considered a case of commercial restoration.

[NYguy]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manha...hEXJGxWtgF9R4knkFI?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=

NYU to 'zero' in on WTC

By TOM TOPOUSIS
June 15, 2010

New York University officials are eyeing lower Manhattan -- including a tower at the World Trade Center -- as part of their 20-year plan to dramatically expand campus housing, classrooms and other services, The Post has learned.

In a letter to the Port Authority and Lower Manhattan Development Corp., NYU Vice President Lynne Brown has requested a meeting with rebuilding officials to determine which downtown sites are available for campus expansion.

The university is planning to add 6 million square feet of new space, about half of which would be built in the college's core area in and around Greenwich Village. But Brown said the university can't meet all of it needs in the historic neighborhood.

"For that reason, we would like to discuss lower Manhattan as part of our exploration of remote sites," she wrote in a letter dated June 11.

Brown cited community officials who have advocated that NYU move into the World Trade Center's yet-to-be-built Tower 5, which is slated for the site of the former Deutsche Bank building now being demolished.

Tower 5 is expected to include 1.3 million square feet of space. The PA is looking for a developer willing to build either an office tower or a combination hotel and housing high-rise on the site after it's cleared by the end of this year, which would fit in with NYU's plans.

"We're certainly willing to meet with NYU and pleased that there is so much continuing interest in the site during its building," said a PA spokesman.

Brown said she wants to meet with LMDC officials to learn about any opportunities available downtown and "to assess whether there is some role that the university can play to help revitalize and diversify the area."

Under NYU's expansion plan, the university's campus would grow by 40 percent over the next two decades.

So far, officials have identified Downtown Brooklyn, a corridor along First Avenue in Manhattan -- near NYU's medical center -- and Governors Island as possible sites for growth.

Sources familiar with the university's plans insist that Tower 5 would not be used to replace a proposed 40-story tower that NYU still wants to build on Bleecker Street, which is the most controversial element of the expansion plan.

Julie Menin, chairperson of downtown's Community Board 1, said a move by NYU to expand in lower Manhattan would find broad community support.

"I raised this idea a number of weeks ago," Menin said. "I'm very pleased they are taking this idea seriously.

"I think it makes sense for a whole lot of reasons. Tower 5 is perfect for them."

[uaarkson]

Please be a hotel!

[Dac150]

Interesting project and all, but not necessarily appropriate for that land at the expense of replacing a commercial high rise. Let’s not forget that the space lost in 130 Liberty should be restored as well. When you really net things out, it’s the financial district. I think to a degree some are losing sight over that.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Dac150

Interesting project and all, but not necessarily appropriate for that land at the expense of replacing a commercial high rise. Let’s not forget that the space lost in 130 Liberty should be restored as well. When you really net things out, it’s the financial district. I think to a degree some are losing sight over that.

It's all within the realm of making Downtown more of a 24-hour destination, or like midtown. It's most important to replace the lost office space, but if they can make room for a performing arts center in the process, I see now harm in it. It's amazing that in a city like New York there isn't one down there (forget about BMCC), but Midtown has been where all the action is. It's also an extension of the Fulton Street corridor, which is supposed to be the spine of this new 24 hour Downtown. I would like if they could at least build the hotel space above the PAC. But between the two sites, 5 WTC most definitely should be the office space.

[NYC4Life]

NY1

03/02/2010 08:49 PM
Deutsche Bank Deconstruction Back On Track



The agency in charge of bringing down the former Deutsche Bank Building says the project is now on target, three years after the 41 story structure was supposed to be gone. NY1's Rebecca Spitz filed the following report.

The shell that was once the Deutsche Bank building has stood for almost a decade as another awful reminder of the September 11th attacks, when it was riddled with toxic debris from the Twin Towers and human remains. It is half its original height now, whittled away by crews currently working on the 19th, 20th and 21st floors.

"There's always work going on three or four floors below with scaffolding being put around the building and protective work being put around the building. But if you would look at it, you'd see most of the workers standing on the 20th floor now," said Lower Manhattan Development Corporation President David Emil.

Work to take the building down was suspended following the fatal fire in 2007 in which two of New York's Bravest were killed. It also had to wait for contaminants that had peppered the building to be removed. That work was finished last fall, leaving just concrete and steel that is being painstakingly dismantled.

The LMDC says about six stories have come down since demolition resumed in November.

"It has to be done carefully, demolition is super dangerous. What we're trying to do is avoid any other serious accidents," Emil said.



The LMDC made a point of clarifying that it isn't smashing the building down, rather taking it apart carefully. But with 350 pieces of steel per floor, the process could last awhile.

The deconstruction cost is estimated to be close to $300 million, with about a third being offset by an insurance settlement from some of Deutsche Bank's former insurance companies.

"It's good to see there's progress being made. A lot of time we may not realize the complications -- it's not a simple job," said City Councilwoman Margaret Chin.

The LMDC says it's on pace to deconstruct two floors per month, meaning the building would be completely dismantled by the end of 2010.

"We have a lot of skepticism because dates have been missed before," said Community Board 1 President Julie Menin.

The LMDC says as far as it knows, no building in an American urban center has ever been taken down this way.

As the weather improves and days get longer, they also say they may extend work hours to allow for extra organizing and cleanup which should help them get to the finish line on time.



Copyright © 2010 NY1 News. All rights reserved.

[winlinmac001]

This is perfect! If JP Morgan is no longer interested in the former Deutsche Bank Building Site, you may as well build a second "Freedom" Tower and eureka: Restoration of the Twin Towers--in the most beautiful skyline in the world! =)

Get on it!

[JSsocal]

Not gonna happen in so many ways...

[Duffstuff129]

Originally Posted by winlinmac001

This is perfect! If JP Morgan is no longer interested in the former Deutsche Bank Building Site, you may as well build a second "Freedom" Tower and eureka: Restoration of the Twin Towers--in the most beautiful skyline in the world! =)

No.

Please read up on the design process/planning of the site.

[Dac150]

I don't think 1.3 million sqft of additional new office space would do Downtown any harm. Save the hotels...

[BStyles]

Why would they even build a hotel in the vicinity of the one behind it? There are way too many hotels in and around the World Trade Center.

The PA really needs to think outside the box.

[uaarkson]

I just want it to be a hotel because the original had one.

[JSsocal]

But is there really a need for one? Already there have been several more hotels built in the area, and several more including 99 Church are in the works.

[Lecom]

Originally Posted by uaarkson

I just want it to be a hotel because the original had one.

Well there's already one across the street from the site, very close to where the old one used to be, of a similar size and cladding. It's a restored building damaged during 9/11. To the left is the current state of the Deutsche Bank Building that occupies the site of 5 WTC.

[meh_cd]

130 Cedar, 123 Washington, Millennium Hilton, Embassy Suites, Marriott Downtown, and 99 Church when it is completed. I think 6+ hotels within a few blocks are more than enough for the time being.

[NYguy]

http://downtownexpress.com/de_374/undercover.html

No P.A.C. at Tower 5

On Tuesday the Port Authority board approved an agreement with NYC whereby the city will reimburse the authority for $44 million worth of work happening below grade on behalf of the Performing Arts Center. When asked if the action killed any hope of having the P.A.C. constructed at the Tower 5 site, home to the old Deutsche Bank Building currently being demolished, spokesperson Steve Coleman said, “I assume so. It’s going to be built on the site where it was intended.”

[NYguy]

http://dnainfo.com/20100625/manhattan/po...ecade-for-redevelopment-of-deutsche-site

Port Authority Chief Doesn't Want to Wait a Decade to Develop Deutsche Site



June 25, 2010
By Julie Shapiro

A mixed-used skyscraper that provides residential living and shops, along with office space, should rise on the site of the Deutsche Bank building, Port Authority executive director Chris Ward said Friday morning.

Speaking a day after outgoing deputy mayor Rober Lieber said the Deutsche site should remain a hole in the ground for a decade while the office market recovers, the Port Authority chief said he saw no reason to wait to build Tower 5.

“We’re going to have to be flexible and creative downtown,” Ward told DNAinfo. “Let’s keep our options open to create the best possible project.”

Ward was responding to Dep. Mayor Robert Lieber’s statement on Thursday that the site for World Trade Center Tower 5 could stay vacant for the next decade, until the real estate market demands additional office space there.

Ward, though, said he envisioned that Tower 5 could follow in the footsteps of the Time Warner Center, which contains offices, condos, a hotel and retail space.

If the Port Authority keeps its options open and works with developers to make the project successful, “something will happen well before 10 years,” Ward said.

Julie Menin, chairwoman of Community Board 1, said she had spoken to residential and hotel developers who were interested in building there, and she hoped affordable housing could be part of the future plan as well.

Menin said it is important to start planning now so the community is not left with “another hole in the ground” once the Deutsche Bank building finally comes down at the end of this year.

“We should not let this languish,” Menin said. “We should get ahead of the curve.”

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

awsomeness i hope this tower will look just as good as the rest of the towers. any guess on a height?

[nycdagreatest]

hopefully it's at least the height of 7 wtc.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

Originally Posted by nycdagreatest

hopefully it's at least the height of 7 wtc.

ya i was guessing that too somewhere from 600 to 700 ft.