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Retail inside the WTC hub will total approximately 200,000 square feet
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On the path to downtown's economic recovery, the World Trade Center (WTC) Transportation Hub promises a bright future. As the center of 13 subway lines, the PATH system, corridors to Hudson River ferries, and possibly a rail link to JFK Airport, the $2.21 billion hub is expected to attract millions of people every year.
But the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, currently the hub's sole proprietor, also has grand plans for the hub's commercial life -- ultimately filling as much as 550,000 square feet with retail that promises to stimulate the Lower Manhattan economy over the long haul.
"We want to be sure that where the transportation hub is, there are complementary services," said Michael Francois, the Port Authority's WTC chief of real estate and economic development. "We also feel that retail is a big element of the mixed-use component of the plan. And we feel the retail will help create a sense of place."
Though complete details for the transportation hub's retail space are still being ironed out, the Port Authority has established some definites, which were presented to Community Board 1 (CB1) on November 7. First and foremost, the authority expects "phase one" to build out three levels of retail space below grade within the transit hall -- a total of up to 200,000 square feet, or one-third of the entire retail square footage program -- by the time the first stores open in 2010.
In comparison, Grand Central Terminal offers 175,000 square feet of retail space, and the new Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle is home to 350,000 square feet. That said, neither the midtown nor the uptown facility incorporates a transportation network as comprehensive as the WTC Transportation Hub, which will include multiple train, ferry, and pedestrian links and accommodate a larger number of residents, commuters, and tourists.
Bill Lacey, a principal with Seattle-based Callison Architecture, one of the hub's retail planners, explained to CB1 and other downtown stakeholders that a path around the retail levels of the hall will welcome visitors and keep them circulating. He also said that plans will account for tens of thousands of commuters daily heading to future World Trade Center destinations, as well as to pedestrian concourses, where easy access will be key.
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Another 375,000 square feet of retail shops are tentatively planned along Church and adjacent streets
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Meanwhile, outside of the main hall, another 375,000 square feet of retail shops are tentatively planned to surround towers two, three, and four at grade along Church and adjacent streets. However, with these "phase-two" plans still on the drawing board, Port Authority planners are considering building out the bases or "podiums" of the towers in order to move in retailers sooner than later.
This "full-build" option would call for structural support installation for future towers without necessarily having their designs and engineering finalized. The result, Francois said, would "make the site seem more complete." Both the Port Authority and CB1 support the full-build program as a way to activate street life around the site and potentially secure top-tier retail "anchors" like department stores.
Another element of the full-build option is to create a corridor on Cortlandt Street between Church and Greenwich, in the 45 or so feet between towers three and four. This "Cortlandt Street Corridor" could be designed similar to the Winter Garden -- essentially an enclosed, pedestrian-geared "galleria" that would connect the various retail elements of the site and could boost retail square footage to almost one million.
Now, with construction for the transportation piece of the hub underway, the authority and its team of consultants, engineers, and development partners -- including the WTC's original retail manager, Westfield Group -- are mining ideas for how best to build and manage the retail side of the hub.
"We will look for input from many sources, including [Community Board 1]," said Jim Connors, the Port Authority's director of WTC redevelopment. "We welcome input from the downtown community as to what kinds of retail are important to serve residential needs."
The Port Authority expects to wrap up the program's final engineering scope by fall 2007, with a groundbreaking to follow soon after.
Click here to read more about the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, and here to visit the Port Authority's Downtown Restoration Program website.
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