Earlier this week, in the wake of the Port Authority's announcement of further World Trade Center delays and cost overruns, 7 World Trade Center and Towers 2, 3 and 4 developer Larry Silverstein issued a statement that said, "As of today, my company's projects – Towers 2, 3 and 4 – are fully designed and on schedule." It was the ultimate Nelson Muntz-style "Ha-Ha" moment. And now that a strike by concrete mixer drivers has pretty much stalled work at the Port Authority's (for now, anyway) Freedom Tower, we can't help but have a laugh at this billboard near Penn Station, celebrating Larry Silverstein, his union ties and his ability to actually get something built at Ground Zero. Do you think he also wipes his tush with Port Authority press releases?
The first private sector tenant has signed on for space in One World Trade Center, aka the Freedom Tower, and it's the Beijing Vantone Real Estate Company. As previously reported, they will use the space for the China Center, some sort of cultural exchange thing. The lease is for the entire 65th through 69th floors and parts of the 64th floor, about 190,000 square feet of office space in all. The lease is for "approximately 23 years from the time the tower opens," which may actually happen some day. [CurbedWire Inbox]
In the 18 months since the Port Authority assumed control of the Freedom Tower project from developer Larry Silverstein, some steel has risen and one shaky private tenant signed on to lease some space. Yep, it's been slow going for the 102-story office tower, much like the rest of the World Trade Center, and the Port Authority is now admitting that they are in over their heads. The Post's Steve Cuozzo reports a blockbuster today, accompanied by our new most-favorite recent Photoshop job, that the PA has met with major developers about taking the tower off its hands. In the past, the PA has said they may take on a financial partner in the troubled tower, but a partnership or long-term lease with a developer is a new and somewhat shocking strategy. Developers that have been approached include Brookfield Properties and the Related Companies, but with Brookfield's Manhattan West and Related's Hudson Yards both on the way, could either handle another massive office project? Cuozzo reports that any developer taking over the Freedom Tower would complete the project as it's currently designed, and of everyone's favorite bi-state agency, a source said, "They have their hands full with the rest of Ground Zero, and they want to clear the decks if they take over Moynihan Station." Oh boy, Moynihan Station is so screwed.
· Price of Freedom [NYP]
· World Trade Center coverage [Curbed]
WTC SITE—There's good new and, uh, bad news about one of the "bathtubs" at the World Trade Center site. First the good news: The Port Authority sent out a press release today saying it will complete 90 percent of the excavation and construction of the Tower 2 foundation by the end of June. Now the bad news: It was supposed to be on July 1 but won't be done until August and that means the agency has to pay Larry Silverstein, who recently got an extension on Towers 3 & 4, a penalty of $300,000 a day until the bathtub's done and the site is turned over. The math works out to about $9.3 million, give or take, assuming an August 1 completion or just under $19 million if August means August 31. A Silverstein spokesperson says the developer is "looking forward to expanding over the entire Tower 2 site later this summer." [CurbedWire Inbox]
SOHO—There are no evil restaurants to install and no bones to dig up, so the announcement of renovation work at Petrosino Square at Lafayette and Kenmare Streets is unlikely to draw protests. The $2 million project involves new pavement and curbs, fencing, plantings, benches and a drinking fountain. The square is named for an NYPD detective killed on assignment in Palermo, Sicily in 1909. [CurbedWire Inbox]
Delays are nothing new for the redevelopment of the World Trade Center, but at least this one is for a good reason. The Port Authority just issued a statement saying the authority has granted developer Larry Silverstein a six-month extension to get Towers 3 and 4 done—moving the completion dates to mid-2012 for Tower 3 and spring 2012 for Tower 4—because Silverstein Properties is in negotiations with Merrill Lynch to move the firm to Tower 3. According to Silverstein, Tower 3 would need to be redesigned (though the extent of that redesign is unclear) to suit Merrill, and the foundation plans for Towers 3 and 4 would have to be amended. Hence, the extension. A deal with Merrill Lynch to fully occupy the building would be a major coup for Silverstein, given the lengthy courtship of the firm by several developers. Work on Towers 3 and 4 is already underway. A look at Sir Richard Rogers' 71-story WTC Tower 3, aka 175 Greenwich Street, is presented above.
· Merrill Lynch Staying Put; Hotel Pennsylvania Safe? [Curbed]
· Work to Begin on Freedom's Friends This Week [Curbed]
· WTC Final Designs: Tower 3 Will Step All Over You [Curbed]
By now it's well known that Spanish starchitect Santiago Calatrava's soaring design for a new World Trade Center PATH terminal is being value-engineered to shit, but according to Port Authority officials, the big bird will still take flight. David Dunlap reports in the Times today that the plan is still to have the train station "completed and functioning" in 2011, and the above-ground aesthetic (the wings!) will not be clipped. But in order to maintain that $2.5 billion budget—and really, it must be hard to build a train stop for Jerseyites for only a couple billion dollars—some design compromises are now coming to light. These changes include a street-level perimeter that will shrink by 10-15 percent, and the use of standard concrete in the ceiling of the mezzanine rather than the stylish and smooth architectural concrete. Of course, more changes are on the way, and a contractor has yet to be found that can deliver this project according to the budget, but said Calatrava: "I believe that we have made the design better in many, many ways, through this exercise." And maybe in many, many years, he'll actually believe that.
· At Rail Hub, Bird Will Still Soar, but With a Bit Less Polish [NYT]
· Calatrava's PATH Station: Now This is Getting Awkward [Curbed]
· Port Authority May Clip Calatrava Again [Curbed]
The World Trade Center PATH station designed by Spanish starchitect Santiago Calatrava has gone from celebrated symbol of Ground Zero's rebirth to an annoying party crasher that the Port Authority doesn't know how to tell to leave. The bird-like terminal was clipped to look like a stegosaurus, then it was clipped again, then last week it got reconfigured yet again due to mounting budget concerns. It's unclear how much Calatrava will be left in it when the terminal—near the MTA's own screwed-up train station—gets built, but here's the thing: the Port Authority may abandon the PATH station altogether. The Sun's Peter Kiefer reports that the incoming Port Authority director may see this is an opportunity to get out of the project, and divert the $1.9 billion in federal funding to the renovation of Penn Station. There are many political hurdles to navigate if the PATH station (a new temporary PATH entrance recently opened at the WTC) gets cut, but some feel that Governor Patterson is behind the move. Pity poor Santiago—he's not having the best of months.
· Ground Zero Money Is Sought for Penn Station [Sun]
· Port Authority May Clip Calatrava Again [Curbed]
It hasn't been the best of times for World Trade Center-area mass transit projects. The financial troubles of the MTA's Fulton Street Transit Hub have been well documented, and now, architect Santiago Calatrava's PATH station for the Port Authority could be in dire straits. The "soaring bird" (seen above in prouder times) has already been clipped twice, and now comes the shocker: the Port Authority is preparing a "modest alternative" to the Calatrava design just in case the cost estimates of building it exceed $2.5 billion, which they most certainly will. The PA claims that no matter what happens, Calatrava's ribbed above-ground structure will remain (in some sort of fashion), but changes could include making greater use of the existing tracks as well as parts of the new temporary PATH terminal. So, when it's all said and done, which round of Rendering/Reality will be more depressing: the Fulton Street Transit Hub, or Calatrava's PATH station?
· Citing Budget Concerns, Port Authority Plans for More Modest Hub at Trade Center Site [NYT]
· New WTC PATH Entrance Ready for Your Morning Commute [Curbed]
· Calatrava's WTC Hub Clipped Again? [Curbed]
The MTA has to answer some tough questions regarding the botched Fulton Street Transit Center near the WTC, but answers are a little tough to come by right now. If you recall, the hub—which will connect the area's 11 lines of subway spaghetti—was supposed to be topped by a Grimshaw Architects-designed glass "oculus," filled will street-level retail. Until, uh, some complications. Now, there's a half-serious proposal floating around to stick a theater designed by Frank Gehry, one that is supposed to go next to the Freedom Tower, on top of the Transit Center. Well, we thought it was half-serious, but today the Sun reports that there are "concept drawings" of the GehryTheaterTrain making the rounds, and the MTA is seriously considering it. Of course, all this hemming and hawing means more delays down at Ground Zero. Testifying in front of the City Council's transportation committee yesterday, the MTA's capital construction president said the project will be delayed at least 12 to 18 months. Which, if you've been by that mess of a corner lately, is totally awesome news!
· Despite Delays, MTA Defends Fulton Center Progress [Sun]
· Riding the Subway With Frank [Curbed]
· MTA Admits WTC Transit Hub is Out of Money [Curbed]
When is the opening of a train station more than just the opening of a train station? When it signals any form of progress in the redevelopment of the World Trade Center. And while this is actually just the opening of a new temporary entrance for the PATH train (the third since 9/11), it still has significant meaning. Which is precisely why we sent Curbed shutterbug Will Femia to capture the new PATH action at Vesey Street on the eve of its first big test, a morning rush hour. This entrance is taking the place of the one on Church Street, which will soon close to make way for excavation and construction at the site. In 2011, the PATH entrance will move back to Church Street, housed in whatever remains of the Port Authority's once-glorious Santiago Calatrava-designed soaring bird. Which will be near whatever remains of the MTA's once-glorious Fulton Street Transit Center.
· Construction Watch: What's Up at the World Trade Center? [Curbed]
· Calatrava's WTC Hub Clipped Again [Curbed]
With Tishman Speyernow in the driver's seat at the Hudson Yards (proposal images above), let's take a closer look at the West Side's new overlords. Founded in 1978 by partners Robert Tishman and Jerry Speyer, Tishman Speyer has grown to become one of the largest real estate development/investment/management firms in the country, if not—dramatic pause—the world. Signature properties in Tishman Speyer's portfolio include the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center and Berlin's Sony Center.
In 2006, Tishman Speyer purchased the middle-class enclave of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village in Manhattan for a record $5.4 billion, and the company has been busy gussying it up and shifting the apartments to pricey market-rate rentals. Soon after, the company set another record, selling the office building at 666 Fifth Avenue for $1.8 billion. Phew. OK, now that that's settled, let's focus on the future of the rail yards, twice the acreage of the World Trade Center and almost as complicated. The $1.004 billion deal with the MTA for the development rights may be settles, but there are many questions left to be answered.
The hum of activity at the World Trade Center site has picked up recently, and now, the moment unemployed mail room workers and janitorial staff have been waiting for: WTC developer Larry Silverstein announced yesterday that construction on Towers 3 and 4 will begin this week. That doesn't give the promise much time of coming to fruition, but we'll give ol' Larry the benefit of the doubt. After all, it's not like we're going to see delays on a project as big and as sensitive as the World Trade Center, right? [awkward silence] To refresh the brain factory, Tower 3 is Richard Rogers' ultrapatriotic 71-story criss-cross with the J.Lo butt. Tower 4 is Fumihiko Maki's 64-story plain Jane of the bunch. Both are expecting to top out in 2010, with Norman Foster's blinged out Tower 2 reaching maximum awesomeness a year later. As for Tower 1, known to all as the Freedom Tower, expect steel to be visible in a few months. USA! USA!
· New WTC Towers Finally Under Way [NYP]
· Towers 3 and 4 To Start Rising at Ground Zero [Sun]
· BREAKING WTC Final Designs: The Whole Enchilada [Curbed]
It is fitting, given Dubai's lightning-fast development pace and the lack of restrictions placed on architects working in the city, that once we finally report on progress on our own World Trade Center, kaboom, here comes Dubai's. But they are very different visions. Developer Larry Silverstein assembled a team of starchitects to design his World Trade Center office towers, and a number of spin-off buildings will rise along the edges. Dubai's World Trade Centre District, reports World Architecture News, is the work of one shop: Hopkins Architects. Or, at least Phase 1 is the work of Hopkins Architects. You never know how big these crazy Dubai projects will grow. And it's not just commercial space. Dubai's WTC will also have 2,000 apartments, two five-star hotels with a combined 1000 rooms, retail space and 8,300 underground parking spaces. Didn't think you could dig into the desert like that? Clearly you're not paying attention. Anything is possible in the land of wonders known as Dubai.
· Heart of the new business district in Dubai [WAN]
· Construction Watch: What's Up at the World Trade Center? [Curbed]
Eventually, 50 West Street will be a 63-story condo-hotel born in the mind of architect Helmut Jahn. Now, however, 50 West Street is just another plot of land that needs pulverizing. Writes our phototipster: "There is some impressive demo going on at the new tower at 50 West Street. I'm sure this is a nightmare for the people at 90 Washington Street." Those living in WTCville should be used to this sort of thing by now, no? Though, this is one hard Helmet hit.
· All Lower Manhattan Hotel Secrets Revealed! [Curbed]
Comments
In the 18 months since the Port Authority assumed control of the Freedom Tower project from developer Larry Silverstein, some 
By now it's well known that Spanish starchitect Santiago Calatrava's soaring design for a new World Trade Center PATH terminal is being 
The MTA has to answer some tough questions regarding the botched Fulton Street Transit Center near the WTC, but answers are a little tough to come by right now. If you recall, the hub—which will connect the area's 11 lines of subway spaghetti—was supposed to be topped by a Grimshaw Architects-designed glass "oculus," filled will street-level retail. Until, uh, some 
The hum of activity at the World Trade Center site has 
