As we wrote about back in September, Silverstein Properties’ three LEED Gold towers planned for the former World Trade Center site are on the verge of climbing out of Greenwich Street. Today, GlobeSt.com reported that the year-long excavation work for the foundations of Towers 3 and 4 are currently within a few weeks of being on schedule. Tower 4 should be set for construction by mid-January, with Tower 3 to follow less than a month later.
The excavation work is being performed by the Port Authority pursuant to the agreement that it entered into with Larry Silverstein back in 2006 (whereby Mr. Silverstein turned over the development of the Freedom Tower and Tower 5- the LEED Platinum Beer Belly Building- to the Port Authority in exchange for the right to build three towers along Greenwich Street). According to a spokesperson, in the interim Silverstein has accelerated pre-construction and procurement efforts for the two buildings so that it can “hit the ground running as soon as the site preparation work is completed.”
As you may recall, Towers 2, 3, and 4 at the World Trade Center have been designed by Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, and Fumihiko Maki, respectively. Excavation work at Tower 2 is on schedule for a June finish, while construction at the Freedom Tower- which will also seek LEED Gold- has been ongoing since 2006. There, the building’s footings and foundations are nearly complete, and structural steel should climb above grade sometime during the first quarter of this year.
KPF is currently reworking its design for the Beer Belly Building at Site 5 in the aftermath of strong criticism of the tower’s bulging mid-drift trading floor (though not here- we quite liked the initial renderings). GlobeSt.com also notes that over 700 construction workers and 100 pieces of heavy equipment are currently active at the World Trade Center site. Such positive news about green development and construction efforts at a site that many considered lost for good in the aftermath of September 11 is a great way to kick off 2008 here at gbNYC.
- LEED Gold Greenwich Street Towers to Break Ground (gbNYC)
- WTC Tower Construction to Begin Mid-January (GlobeSt.com)
- Beer Belly Building (gbNYC)
- KPF to Critics: Big is Beautiful, Functional (gbNYC)
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