Results tagged “anthonycoscia”

Uh-oh. The Santiago Calatrava-designed World Trade Center PATH transit hub is now estimated to be $1.2 billion over budget by the construction company's contractor. Previous estimates pegged building the critically-praised "bird-like" structure at $2.2 billion in 2005, after the Port Authority approved a revised design. Why the high estimate? Labor costs and materials.

State and federal agencies may have agreed to lease over a third of the space in Freedom Tower, but it doesn't mean people actually want to work there. The NY Times spoke to prospective employees from agencies who have mixed feelings about going. While some think it would be an honor, one state Department of Transportation employee, Alicia Ferrer who escaped from the World Trade Center on September 11, said:

“If my life depended on it, I couldn’t go there. It would be beyond imaginable to put someone back there. If you had to go back there every day where you know their souls and spirits have to be, I don’t know. I couldn’t do it every single day.”

This comes after Port Authority chairman Anthony Coscia told the Bergen Record that he wouldn't make Port Authority employees work at Freedom Tower: "Twice these people were the subject of that attack, and I am not going to ask them to move into that building. I'll resign, but I won't ask them to move into that building." Well, that's certainly honest. The Port Authority says Coscia actually made those remarks six months ago and that Coscia's "never questioned the safety of Freedom Tower and believes that it is tremendously safe and secure." Interesting - six months ago is before WTC developer Larry Silverstein agreed to Port Authority's terms and conditions about building the Freedom Tower. And the Port Authority is supposed to lease Tower 4 (the Maki tower) in the master plan.

After surveying flood damage around the region, Governor George Pataki came to Manhattan with good news: The U.S. Customs and Border Protection office will lease 600,000 square feet in Freedom Tower. At a rate of $40-50 per square foot, this is considerably less than midtown rents which are around $75 per square foot (the agency has a few offices around town), but they won't be able to move in for five or so years. However, this news did encourage Port Authority chairman Anthony Coscia, who had hinted that the tower would need to be scaled back if government groups didn't take 1 million of the tower's 2.8 million square feet.

Construction crews may be getting ready to blast bedrock to make way for the Freedom Tower, but yesterday yet another potential wrench was announced. The chairman of the Port Authority, Anthony Coscia, said the tower will have be to scaled back if government groups don't lease space in the 1,776 foot building. More specifically, government groups need to agree to take on 1 million of the 2.8 million square foot building by September in order for the project to be "financially viable." The Port Authority is in charge of building Freedom Tower (after getting control from leaseholder Larry Silverstein), but only agreed to if the project would be "financially feasible." Interestingly enough, it's unclear whether or not the Port Authority's headquarters, formerly at the WTC, will lease space. Still, Coscia is "optimistic" about getting tenants (Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff explained that Coscia was trying to remind the government that they need to lease). Well, this will certainly be what Governor Pataki needs to work - calling in more favors with the feds - on if he wants his Freedom Tower built

Eager to reassure everyone that things were moving along at Ground Zero, Governor Pataki's World Trade Center flunky chief of staff, said that the PATH Transit Hub designed by Santiago Calatrava would offer 200,000 square feet of space for retailers and bidding will start in a few months. All hell, does this mean there will be an Olive Garden down there, to compete with the Applebee's at the Battery Park Regal Cinemas? The NY Times says the retail corridor plans, which would include another 300,000 square feet along Church Street, might face "same criticism that felled the Freedom Center"; plus Cahill's remarks were to a group of business executives, including those from Wal-Mart (of course, the Port Authority chairman Anthony Coscia had to tell the Times, "It's premature, to be frank, but if you think we're planning a big Wal-Mart, the answer is no."). At any rate, if there's one thing Gothamist remembers after September 11, it's that if you don't shop, then the terrorists win! Perhaps the LMDC can build a mall to rival the one uptown...and call it "Freedom to Shop Center."