NEW YORK | 200 Greenwich - 2 WTC | 1,226 FT | 55 FLOORS

[OneWorldTradeCenter]

Great news. Nice to see some progress here.

However, I hope that we're going to see a fully restored WTC in about 5 years. Maybe Larry wants to those things done soon... I mean, he is 79 years old.

[NYguy]

^ Yeah, the good thing about getting this tower built up to street level by the end of next year is that when construction of the full tower begins again (assuming no tenant comes before then), the long, hard part of watching the foundation and sublevels get built up to the street will have already been done. A significant amount of construction time will have already passed...


http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010..._deal_to_push_through_construction_.html
Larry Silverstein to get $1.6 billion of much-needed financing for WTC construction

By Doug Feiden
August 25th 2010

A breakthrough $1.6 billion financing deal that will help pay for two gargantuan office towers on the Church St. side of Ground Zero is expected to win approval from the Port Authority board Thursday, insiders say.

The pact between the PA and developer Larry Silverstein could finally end years of bitter, budget-busting battles that slowed construction and jacked up costs for rebuilding the World Trade Center site.

First announced in March and hammered out over the past five months, the plan would provide $1 billion in public financing and subsidies for Silverstein's Tower 4, a 64-story, 975-foot skyscraper set to open in 2013.

If he meets certain conditions, the builder can draw on another $600 million in financing for Tower 3, a 71-story, 1,137-foot colossus that would be taller than the Chrysler Building, officials say.

The bar for that extra cash is steep: Silverstein, who has invested little of his own money, must first kick in $300 million and ink lease deals for 400,000 square feet of space - or nearly 20% of the building.

Meanwhile, a third planned behemoth, Tower 2, a 79-story, 1,270-foot icon at Vesey St. that would have been higher than the Empire State Building, would be shelved indefinitely.

Planners don't want to leave another gaping hole in the ground, so they'll complete Tower 2's foundation and infrastructure so that construction can eventually take place - if and when market conditions recover, people close to the project say.

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

wow those heights are just all over the place....

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork

wow those heights are just all over the place....

Those were some of the official roof heights, which have varied, and could vary again.

[winlinmac001]

Why can't they add 2 feet to the pinnacle of Tower to make it a perfect 1,360ft just like the South Tower of 2 WTC (Before 9/11)?

[BStyles]

Because the south tower was 1,362 feet and 1WTC is already that roof height.

[winlinmac001]

I thought 1 WTC is 1,368 feet.

Originally Posted by BStyles

Because the south tower was 1,362 feet and 1WTC is already that roof height.

Port Authority Approves WTC Construction Plan

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/124416/port-authority-approves-wtc-construction-plan

The Board of Commissioners at the Port Authority has ratified a plan today that gives developer Larry Silverstein up to $1.6 billion in public money to build two office towers at the World Trade Center site.

The plan, tentatively agreed to in March, calls for the Port Authority to provide about a billion dollars in financing for a tower already under construction.

If Silverstein is able to raise at least $300 million for the second tower and sign leases with tenants, another $600 million in subsidies would come his way.

Potential plans for a third tower are on hold until market conditions improve.

"It provides for the immediate restoration of the east side of the site while phasing in the office development as follows -- completion of Tower Four by 2013, Tower Three built to at least podium level and the Tower Two site built to grade, and a cash trap to ensure that the public gets paid back before cash flows to Silverstein Properties," said Philippe Visser of Port Authority.

The "cash trap" allows public investors to be paid back before Silverstein profits from the development.

"The three things that were critical to this deal were obviously that we needed to protect public resources. We had to bring market reality to downtown, but most importantly we had to make sure that the public resources that were invested were not invested in such a way that would benefit our private partner, Larry Silverstein," said Port Authority Executive Director Christopher Ward. "The cash trap is for the purposes for ensuring that."

In a statement, Silverstein called the deal "fantastic news for New York," and expressed "deep appreciation" to the mayor, the governors of New York and New Jersey, the state assembly speaker and the Port Authority.

This deal puts an end to years of dispute over the future of the site, which has led to extensive delays and higher construction costs.

Source: NY1, New York 1 Media

[JSsocal]

Originally Posted by winlinmac001

Why can't they add 2 feet to the pinnacle of Tower to make it a perfect 1,360ft just like the South Tower of 2 WTC (Before 9/11)?

Because the north tower was 1,368 ft and the south was 1,362 ft. Why would you add two feet two a tower, what tape a pole to the top and say its as tall as the south tower. Anyways it will not appear that tall anyways since the tower comes to a point at the top.

[CoolCzech]

Originally Posted by winlinmac001

In a statement, Silverstein called the deal "fantastic news for New York," and expressed "deep appreciation" to the mayor, the governors of New York and New Jersey, the state assembly speaker and the Port Authority.

This deal puts an end to years of dispute over the future of the site, which has led to extensive delays and higher construction costs.[/SIZE]

Source: NY1, New York 1 Media

What exactly is so "fantastic" about this deal, anyway?

Tower 4 is ALREADY under construction, and it doesn't really sound like much will be done with Tower 2 at all. Meanwhile, why get excited about a "temporary" podium at Tower 3? Wasn't the Hearst Building podium "temporary," for several decades?

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by CoolCzech

What exactly is so "fantastic" about this deal, anyway?

Tower 4 is ALREADY under construction, and it doesn't really sound like much will be done with Tower 2 at all. Meanwhile, why get excited about a "temporary" podium at Tower 3? Wasn't the Hearst Building podium "temporary," for several decades?

You may not have noticed, but tower 4 was "suspended" until the deal was finalized. Tower 3 will only stop at the podium if Silverstein doesn't have a tenant for a minimal 20% of the tower ina couple of years. Tower 2 will be built up to street level at least. The idea is to get the construction started now so the sublevels of the WTC can be complete. You would rather wait 5 years, and then start the job of getting the foundation ready or construction, followed by a couple of more years of building sublevels before the tower could actually rise? Without this deal, nothing would be getting built but the Freedom Tower. And the Hearst Building is a good deal further north than the WTC, not exactly in the heart of Downtown where new commercial space is scarce.

Originally Posted by winlinmac001

Why can't they add 2 feet to the pinnacle of Tower to make it a perfect 1,360ft just like the South Tower of 2 WTC (Before 9/11)?

It could be that the tower is higher than that anyway, we don't really have exact finalized height of the buildings anyway. The Freedom Tower itself will be higher than the originally reported 1368 ft to the top of the facade because of the change in height measurements. We'll know exactly what these buildings will be when more specifics come out.

[NYguy]

http://www.panynj.gov/press-room/press-item.cfm?headLine_id=1311

PORT AUTHORITY BOARD APPROVES AGREEMENT THAT WILL FULLY RESTORE WTC SITE

Aug 26, 2010

Tower 2: The immediate construction of Tower 2 to street level with the flexibility to start construction of the office tower based solely on market demand and no public support.

[CoolCzech]

Originally Posted by NYguy

http://www.panynj.gov/press-room/press-item.cfm?headLine_id=1311

PORT AUTHORITY BOARD APPROVES AGREEMENT THAT WILL FULLY RESTORE WTC SITE

Aug 26, 2010

OK, good points, NYGuy. Thanks for the explanation...

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by CoolCzech

OK, good points, NYGuy. Thanks for the explanation...

See, I knew you were more of a "glass is half full" kind of guy...

[NYguy]

http://lowermanhattan.info/construction/project_updates/world_trade_center_tower_49193.aspx

*The following information was last updated on September 2, 2010

-SPI began foundation work at the T2 site in June , 2010. It is expected to be complete to grade appx. December 2011.

-Drilling, demolition, rock excavation and removal of material (including off hours).

[Mr. Lion]

Originally Posted by OneWorldTradeCenter

Great news. Nice to see some progress here.

However, I hope that we're going to see a fully restored WTC in about 5 years. Maybe Larry wants to those things done soon... I mean, he is 79 years old.

prob 10-15 years. even then not all of the office space of the original twins wont be recovered

[SkyscrapersOfNewYork]

Originally Posted by Mr. Lion

prob 10-15 years. even then not all of the office space of the original twins wont be recovered

no 5 to 6 years sounds good

[Obey]

Originally Posted by SkyscrapersOfNewYork

no 5 to 6 years sounds good

Yeah, 10-15 years sounds like a little too long. The maximum I would predict is 7.

[brian.odonnell20]

they released a prediction in an article on wtc.com a few days back... pa said 5-6 years for all construction to be completed, but the office space will not be restored until about 12 years.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by brian.odonnell20

they released a prediction in an article on wtc.com a few days back... pa said 5-6 years for all construction to be completed, but the office space will not be restored until about 12 years.

Nobody knows exactly when all of the office space will be rebuilt. The PA doesn't even know what it's going to do with Tower 5. I'll take Silverstein's word on his timetable for the towers he has to build. He's optimistic, and he should be. The lengthy, harder part of getting these towers up out of the ground is being done now. Even if Tower 2 were to stop at street level (at the end of next year), and there was no construction on the tower for 2 or 3 years, it would still only take another 2 years once construction resumes to top out, and maybe another year or two to get the building open for business. Still less than 10 years.

[NYC4Life]

According to Mr. Silverstein during today's WTC update press conference, towers 2 and 3 would be completed 5 years after WTC 1 and 4. That will put it roughly at 2018.