Construction in Lower Manhattan is only beginning to escalate

Since September 11, 2001, rebuilding and reinvestment in Lower Manhattan has been steady in both the public and private sectors. At the World Trade Center, the Port Authority and Silverstein Properties have coordinated mass excavation and heavy construction work within the site’s 16 acres -- answering the challenges that inevitably arise with determination and collaboration.

Elsewhere downtown, more than $22 billion in construction projects continue to build new buildings, renovate existing ones, and improve the city’s infrastructure.

To highlight some of the work that’s been done over the past

The street reconstruction work on Fulton continues

SEPTEMBER 2007

• The city launches a new website to consolidate all of the latest information about 9/11-related health issues, including where to go for free treatment and medication. (Visit www.nyc.gov access the site.)
• In the wake of the 130 Liberty Street fire, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) announces results of air testing for hazardous metals in the area. More than 360 tests for asbestos and metals return negative. (Learn more about the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center’s (LMCCC) environmental programs here.) 
• World Trade Center (WTC) officials and architects joined Silverstein Properties to unveil final designs and construction plans for Towers 2, 3, and 4. Refinements of the three new towers include orienting their office lobbies westward, access to lower-level retail and the WTC Transportation Hub, and earning LEED Gold certification.

• In two years since ground was broken at Duane and Elk Streets, the African Burial Ground National Monument memorial opens to the public on October 5th, 2007. It is the first national monument dedicated to Africans of early New York and Americans of African descent.
• The city launches the capital reconstruction of Beekman Street and Park Place. The work includes upgrading vital utilities and rebuilding the roadway, intersections, and sidewalks.
• Silverstein Properties announces that Robert A.M. Stern will design the new 80-story 99 Church Street hotel and residential tower. The developer later names the Four Seasons as the hotel to occupy the building’s lower 22 stories.
• City crews continue replacing the 150-year-old water main on Fulton Street between Church and Gold Streets.

A downtown street arts program began in November 2007

• Port Authority crews begin building the WTC Transportation Hub’s
• “east-west connector,” an underground pedestrian concourse linking the WTC with Battery Park City’s World Financial Center.
• The LMDC awards more than $37 million in grants toward the creation or expansion of community-enriching programs, services, and facilities throughout Lower Manhattan.
• The Alliance for Downtown New York launches “Re:Construction,” a new program that creatively incorporates public art into construction sites.
• At Wall and South Streets, the city unveils the new glass fountain that completes construction of Wall Street Triangle Park, which is officially renamed Manahatta Park. The fountain honors Deutsche Bank employees who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

DECEMBER 2007

• Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces the launch of Notify NYC, an emergency notification system that will distribute information via email, text messages, and reverse-911 calls to those who subscribe to alerts for Lower Manhattan and three other neighborhoods.
• LMCCC acting Executive Director Robert Harvey meets with Community Board 1 (CB1) to explain how the agency is coordinating logistics between developers, managers, suppliers, and local stakeholders in preparation for the early 2009 downtown construction peak.

JANUARY 2008

• Governor Eliot Spitzer and Mayor Michael Bloomberg tap the Battery Park City Authority to redevelop the three-story Pier A building. The project is part of the city’s larger plan to improve the “Harbor District,” which includes Brooklyn Bridge Park, the East River Esplanade, Governors Island, Hudson River Park, Ellis Island and Liberty State Park.
• The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) says that escalating construction costs are forcing the agency to scale back plans for the $750 million Fulton Street Transit Center. While most of the Transit Center designs will continue as originally planned, the main building will likely be simplified, with the entire complex opening in late 2010.

FEBRUARY 2008

• With a $60 million exterior and structural rehabilitation 

  A hotel and over renovation to the Battery Maritime Building is announced

  complete, the city Economic Development Corporation (EDC) hires the Dermot Company and Poulakakos family to redesign the landmark Battery Maritime Building’s interior. A new hotel, multi-purpose space, and overall renovation are part of the $150 million program slated to begin in late 2008.
• The Port Authority begins turning over the southern portion of the east bathtub to developer Silverstein Properties, allowing foundation work for WTC Towers 3 and 4 to commence. Meanwhile, the Port continues massive excavation at the north end of the east bathtub where Tower 2 will rise.

MARCH 2008

• The state and city announce the $5 million Lower Manhattan Small Firm Assistance Program to provide grants to eligible street-level businesses adversely affected by redevelopment construction.
• The “survivors stairway,” the largest artifact still in its original WTC location, is relocated to make room for construction of Tower 2.
• The long-awaited decontamination plan for Fiterman Hall is approved by regulators, with crews immediately beginning cleaning and abatement work.
• Lieutenant Governor David Paterson is inaugurated as 55th Governor of the State of New York on March 17th.
• Construction of the new, $517 million South Ferry subway terminal enters its final phase, on target for its December 2008 opening.

APRIL 2008

• Pope Benedict XVI visits the WTC site on April 20th.
• The temporary WTC PATH entrance on Church Street closes to make way for the excavation and construction of the permanent WTC Transportation Hub. PATH riders are redirected to the new temporary north entrance on Vesey Street at West Broadway.
• The expansion of the New York Stock Exchange–area streetscape and security improvements resumes in the Financial District, with crews installing new vehicular barriers and replacing sidewalks through late 2008.

The Goldman Sachs building tops out in May 2007

• The 43-story Goldman Sachs headquarters in Battery Park City (200 West Street) tops out.
• The Sports Museum of America opens at 26 Broadway, unveiling exhibits spanning the Olympics to bowling to basketball to soccer and beyond.

JUNE 2008

• Decontamination of 130 Cedar Street concludes, with crews moving on to partial deconstruction inside the 12-story building, followed by the addition of seven floors. The former office building will be converted to a hotel slated to open in early 2010.
• Silverstein Properties begins foundation work at the sites of Towers 3 and 4, making the floor of the east bathtub an active construction site 85 feet below grade.
• Governor David Paterson calls on new Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward to deliver a complete assessment of the WTC rebuilding schedule and budget, due in September 2008.

JULY 2008

• The Port Authority tells CB1 that the new, 32,000-square-foot World Financial Center Terminal in Battery Park City (BPC) is on track for a late September opening, expanding BPC ferry access to five slips.
• Crews begin installing the first of approximately 60 steel arches that frame the WTC Transportation Hub’s “east-west connector,” which abuts the southern wall of the Freedom Tower.
• On July 23rd the Hudson River Park Trust opens the redeveloped north Tribeca segment, located between West Houston and Laight Streets. The project is part of larger, 550-acre Hudson River Park plan to improve the esplanade and open new recreation areas.

AUGUST 2008

• The city launches the capital reconstruction of Liberty Street, with crews starting in the roadway between Nassau and William Streets and continuing eastward to Water Street. The project includes reconstruction of Pearl Street from Fulton to John; Maiden Lane from William to Water; and Louise Nevelson Plaza at William and Liberty Streets.

SEPTEMBER 2008

• Installation of steel begins at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum at the WTC in early September 2008. 

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