NEW YORK - The much-delayed World Trade Center reconstruction project is all set to begin Thursday as the legal hurdles have now been cleared. The site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks called, as Ground Zero will be the foundation for a Freedom Tower, which is being touted as the tallest building in North America.
This fresh move comes after an agreement was reached between the owner of the site, which covers 16 acres and a real estate developer who had leased it about six weeks before the twin towers were razed. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the transportation agency had been responsible for running the buildings on the site till late 2001. The agencies reached a deal with developer Larry Silverstein on Wednesday afternoon. "We agreed to all of the port's economic terms in its proposal to restructure our 99-year lease," Silverstein said. "This is a fair deal."
The four buildings are to be completed by 2012. Gov. George E. Pataki was of the opinion that the construction effort will inject a fresh lease of life into Lower Manhattan. As a part of yesterday's agreement, the Freedom Tower will be under the control of the Port Authority, but Silverstein will still build it. He was the one who oversaw the $2.1 billion Freedom Tower designs. He will also be building three other office skyscrapers located on the site.
The Freedom Tower will rise to a height of 1,360 feet and will have a spire atop it to indicate the year of the American Revolution. The southern half of the site will house a memorial to the 2,973 victims of the 9/11 attacks as well as the six people killed in a truck bombing in 1993. Silverstein will retain control of the other three buildings. "We have made real concessions," Silverstein said. "This is about moving the rebuilding forward as quickly as possible. All the finger-pointing must stop, and we must all work together to achieve our vital mission -- to fully revitalize and renew New York's historic downtown region."
