Quote:
Originally Posted by NYguy
Well, as you yourself have correctly noted above, there has been no official restart of the above ground construction. We've always known Tower 2 would be built to grade, and wait for a tenant to build out the full tower. There have been no false starts on this tower. Talk of a potential tenant signing here would be good news, because as of now, there is none. Surely that is not the way you would like it to remain.
|
Of course I would not like it to remain this way and for 2 WTC to get an anchor tenant as soon as possible so that above ground construction can also begin as soon as possible.
However, it seems like potential anchor tenants are flocking to places like Hudson Yards or Midtown instead of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. This could mean that building on spec remains the most likely option and that construction on 2 WTC will only become more certain when current projects at the WTC site are completed.
It would be great to have the start of construction on 2 WTC begin within a few days to few weeks, but from past experience having seen the pace of construction at the WTC site, it does not seem likely that above ground construction on 2 WTC will resume until at least the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and PAC are completed and open (which is right now expected sometime in 2022 and Fall 2023, respectively).
Again as an example, priority to finish and open 1 WTC was overshadowed by finishing and opening the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum first, significant work on the Oculus and 3 WTC only picked up once 1 WTC and 4 WTC were completed and open, work to finish 3 WTC sped up after the Oculus was completed and open in 2016 and work on the northern part of the VSC and the PAC only started and sped up in 2018 after 3 WTC was completed and opened.
If history is any guide, going by this kind of timeline, it could be expected that once St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and the PAC are completed and open, construction on 5 WTC and 2 WTC will begin to be prioritized more and there will be much more news and signs of the start of construction on those sites compared to now.
By "false starts" I mean past talk hinting that the tower might be built soon.
An example of this can be seen in the the Wikipedia article on 2 World Trade Center:
Quote:
On February 11, 2019, Larry Silverstein said in an interview that he was considering building the tower without a signed tenant. He stated, "For all intents and purposes, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start on Tower 2 because it won't be finished until about 2022, 2023."[45]
45. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-signed-tenant
|
There has also been a lot of news in the past few years about potential tenants like Fox (2015) and Deutsche Bank (2017) signing on as tenants only to back out at the last minute in favor of staying in Midtown.
Additionally there has been many stories about proposals by Silverstein to build on spec, release official designs and hint at start of construction since 2019, but nothing has come of it.
https://therealdeal.com/2019/05/15/s...2-wtc-on-spec/
https://tribecacitizen.com/2020/01/2...o-world-trade/
https://therealdeal.com/2021/09/08/w...2-wtc-started/
https://web.archive.org/web/20210911...erstein-2021-9
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/02/16/tw...ster-partners/
That's why imo the encouraging signs will be not only be when start on above ground construction is announced (with or without (if the building on spec option proceeds) an anchor tenant of 2 WTC announced), but also when there are visible signs at the site of 2 WTC itself of the start of above ground construction (similar to the Oculus in 2013/2014 and the PAC in 2018/2019).
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYguy
Well, for one thing, it will be built because Silverstein Properties is legally bound to rebuild it. People often forget that this is Port Authority property that Silverstein leases. He was legally bound to rebuild the Twin Towers, but due to the nature of 9/11, obviously that wasn't the case. But this is still government property that is leased out. It must be rebuilt.
|
A similar event with the rebuilding of 1 WTC seemed to occur back in 2006, when Larry Silverstein ceded leasing of 1 WTC (then called the Freedom Tower) and the Port Authority oversaw faster construction of the tower:
https://web.archive.org/web/20060503...p-348812c.html
Quote:
Wednesday's deal switches control of leasing the Freedom Tower from Silverstein to the Port Authority, along with a second skyscraper that may change from an office building to apartments. Silverstein, who oversaw design and construction plans for the $2.1 billion Freedom Tower, will still build it, and build and lease three other office towers located closer to a mass transit hub on the site.
David Childs, the Freedom Tower's architect, said he didn't expect the Port Authority's takeover of the building to change the design or delay rebuilding. "They've been looking at all our plans and endorsing it all along," said Childs, who attended Thursday's event.
|
If history is any guide, once the Port Authority takes over and more actively oversees construction, construction on projects at the WTC site usually speeds up, provided that past projects which were already being worked on and prioritized are complete. Silverstein seems to demand a lot of money and guarantees from potential tenants before proceeding with construction compared to the Port Authority, which slows down construction a lot when his company is the primary party overseeing development of a property on the WTC site imo.