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Photograph of the World Trade Center site "tub" from Silverstein Properties
Last Friday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, "Seven years and eight months after the attacks, I am fed up with the stalling and exasperated with the current state of the World Trade Center project," outlining that two of the towers must be completed by 2014 and urging developer Larry Silverstein to take on more of the risk, with help from the Port Authority. Now, the Daily News reports that the Port Authority is proposing a drastic change to the plan that would reduce the square footage from 10 million to 5 million:
The sources say the agency's new vision for the site calls for scrapping one tower that would have been taller than the Empire State Building and nixing two others that would have dwarfed the nearby Woolworth Building.Additionally, the proposal would call for "Abandon[ing] all plans for Tower 5, slated to go on the toxic Deutsche Bank building site, for the foreseeable future" and "Underwrit[ing] about $1 billion in financing costs and rent abatements for Silverstein on 64-story, 975-foot Tower 4, which is the only building he'd get to construct"—plus having Silverstein "surrender most of his development fees, insurance proceeds and fine revenues in return" for Tower 4.In place of two Silverstein behemoths, each designed by a British lord and soaring 79 stories [Tower 2 by Norman Foster and Tower 3 by Richard Rogers], the PA would erect a pair of short, squat buildings no taller than four or five floors - coined "stumps" - that could be used for retail shops, according to the proposal.
A summit about the World Trade Center development is being held at Gracie Mansion sometime this week. Mayor Bloomberg said, "Keep in mind it is a Port Authority thing, and the city doesn't have extra money, but we can hopefully be a facilitator." Silverstein has looked to the Port Authority for help before, too.
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... wow.
Just put in a goddamn park already.
I like "stumps." That sounds very classy and attractive. They could make 2 stumps, to stand in as mini-world trade centers.
But seriously, what would we need with a zillion more square feet of office space?
Let's just put in a wal-mart and 5 acres of parking and call it even
a tower and two stumps eh?
hahaha
Nice.
Alternatively, it would look like Manhattan was flipping NJ the bird.
Does anyone else feel embarrassed?
Here I am talkin Bad about Miami. Their Politianz, Contractors & Architect Sticking Billions in their pockets & taking over 5 yearz to build a simple Arts center. Thats a Shame
If there ever was a compelling case for eminent domain, this is it. The city should tell Silverstein and the PA to shit or get off the pot. If they dare try to put up some sort of f**king STUMPS they should lose it all. The city can afford to plant a million trees and give it back to the people.
Holy blah!
Can't we just do it the American way a put in a Mcdonald's or something already jeez
Something is not kosher about this whole project.
The only people making out on this appears to be the people that do all the revised renderings. And of course one other individual who shall remain unnamed.
Of course something is not Kosher about the whole project - the Port Authority is involved!
can we just have China build this for us and call it a day already?
Plow it over. Plant grass and give us a park. Fuck the tourists and thier incessant need to buy "9-11" crap. We're the people who actually live here and pay taxes. Some grass and trees would be really nice.
Yeah I'll Go with That One! Some treez to Lay Under & drink wiskey or Whatever I don't Know. As long as its Green & Pretty
I wonder: What actually is the hold up? Is it an engineering issue or simply politics???
Money and politics. The city's big real estate developers would like nothing more than to see nothing built there. If the market gets flooded with that much new square footage, the margins on all their properties will take a hit.
Tower 2 looks okay, but I can't say I'd be bummed if Tower 3 was never built, at least the one in that rendering.
What a bureaucratic, political, greedy nightmare.
How about they just put in a park and maybe give a little something back to the city's people rather than this bickering?
i want a bunch of big tall buildings there. why would it be awful to 'flood' the market with new space? because then companies can get prime office space for a more reasonable rate and will decide to move to manhattan or stay here instead of leaving?
We showed them terrorists that nothing can stop the USA from rebuilding! Nothing, absolutely nothing, can keep us down. We will soar like an eagle for eterni...Oh wait...ummm...gotta go.
Ugghhh. Tower 2 was my favorite one! Sheesh.
As much as I hate Norman Foster that was actually one of his nicest designs, will be a shame that it likely won't be built.
All three of those towers look like 1980s crap, so no great loss if none get put up. But "stumps"? Seriously? Can we possibly have something down there without a fucking Duane Reade in it?
Great, how about starting over with some real architectural design.
The old complex had a really great Borders bookstore in a "stump" building. I believe it was at Church and Vesey.
It's also about time that someone takes out Silverstein and his greedy ways. Waterboard the mofo and see where all that money went.
Next we'll be reminiscing about Radio Row.
The Wall Street / Battery Park area was once pretty variegated and interesting, but with the South Street Seaport and Battery Park City, it's been pretty much gentrified out of existence. Mendoza's bookstore is long gone, and Warren Street has fallen to the real estate developers. The WTC was part of that process, and now there isn't much left. There is no point in building huge office towers there. Just build more bland, sterile condos and malls for prissy, witless surburbanites. Too bad they're not sterile -- they seem to breed like rats.