Quote:
Originally Posted by Golyadkin
Not sure where the information is coming from (it's not cited), or if anyone can confirm its validity or lack thereof, but the Wikipedia article for 5 WTC lists it as under construction with a ground breaking having taken place on Sept. 9, 2011 for "...the new tower, JP Morgan Chase..."
|
Back in February, someone was just as confused as you were after reading what Wikipedia had to say. Hopefully this will clear things up a little…
Currently, the Port Authority is building the Vehicle Security Center below-grade (outlined in blue) underneath 155 Cedar St. and the northern part of 130 Liberty Street. They have also built a temporary, $800,000 platform to receive the 9/11 Memorial Plaza visitors. (If you look at any of the webcams, it’s the trapezoidal shape close to the base of the W Hotel).
Sometime in 2007, JPMorgan Chase proposed to build a 40-story office tower here. This is the cantilevered design that was dubbed “the urinal” by its critics. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, the proposal died, JPMorgan Chase dropped out of the picture, and the design was scrapped.
The entire 130 Liberty Street address has become a very complex piece a real estate. It was initially home to the Deutsche Bank Center that was irreparably damaged during the September 11 terrorist attacks. It wasn’t completely demolished until earlier this year after years of setbacks resulting from mismanagement, broken tools, unsafe working conditions, etc. The site’s fate has not yet been decided, but here are some possibilities.
PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION
1)
An office tower with a corporate tenant. This type of development would be consistent with the rest of the WTC, and it would allow the Port Authority to generate the most revenue from the highest-possible rents per square foot.
2)
A mixed-use tower that includes any combination of hotels, offices and residences. They’ve reached out to luxury hotels, and NYU has expressed interest in moving into a potential tower.
3)
The Performing Art Center (PAC)…the entire project won’t get built unless the city can $300 million for its construction, and the current (and original) proposal is to sandwich it between WTC1 and Greenwich Street. Soon after JPMorgan Chase dropped out of the picture, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation pushed for its relocation to 130 Liberty Street. That was quickly shot down but a few champions keep talking about it as an option and getting their voices heard in the newspaper. If the PAC ever gets built, there’s 99% chance it’ll be built by WTC1.
4)
St. Nicholas Church – Like the Deutsche Bank building, this Greek Orthodox Church was destroyed in the collapse of the twin towers. It was a very modest church that was the only remnant of a former street-wall (the white building on the left marked by an arrow). When they wanted to build a new church, they designed one that’s several times larger than the original structure, and they wanted to move to 130 Liberty Street (the white building on the right marked by the arrow). Well, the Port Authority wanted the church to rebuild in its original spot at 155 Cedar St. because the Vehicle Security Center (VSC)below would not have to be redesigned in order to accommodate its stresses on the steel below. The 130 Liberty street side of the VSC, however, is where the cylindrical ramps will take the vehicles into the entire WTC underground complex, and there the steel is arranged in such a way that it cannot support anything above it. That’s why the renders only have a part in its place. The church, however, has demanded that they build on the 130 Liberty St. parcel, and in fact, the only reason why JPMorgan Chase designed the “urinal” cantilever was to accommodate the church below while maximizing their parcel’s land. Anyway, the church filed suit against the Port Authority, and no one knows where that is right now in the courts, and if the church even has a case. Regardless, it could threaten the delivery of the security center as you can see the excavation there has proceeded much more slowly than at 155 Cedar.
In other words, this site is a mess, and there are a number of hurdles that have to be cleared before a clear vision can emerge. And since towers 2 and 3 have not found anchor tenants yet,
WTC5 will likely be shelved until the market improves and demand for new office space increases.