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Governor Pataki, developer Silverstein and other rebuilding officials at Freedom Tower ceremony
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In a banner day for Lower Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor George Pataki, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, and other rebuilding officials joined developer Larry Silverstein Thursday morning, April 27th, to welcome construction crews to the World Trade Center site, marking the official start of construction for the Freedom Tower.
Earlier this week, months of difficult negotiations finally reached a conclusion when Silverstein accepted the terms of a deal proposed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the mayor and governors in which he will cede development rights for the Freedom Tower and one other tower at the site but retain ownership and development rights for towers two, three, and four. The Port Authority, which will lease the Freedom Tower and tower five, approved the agreement at its Wednesday board meeting.
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| Governor George Pataki |
"If you listen in the background, you can hear the heavy equipment … the builders here at the World Trade Center site beginning their work," Pataki announced triumphantly at a Thursday morning press conference. "The Freedom Tower is going to be a symbol of our freedom and our independence," he said, adding that a plan is now in place for development of the entire World Trade Center site.
"That we are here today is something that is thrilling to me," Silverstein told the crowd. Under the agreement reached this week, Silverstein and the Port Authority will divide the insurance proceeds and $3.5 billion in Liberty Bonds for the development of the site and receive a $250 million contribution from the state. Silverstein will pay an additional $1.75 billion in rent during his 99-year lease, in exchange for which the government promises to fill more than 1 million square feet of office space with federal, state, and city leases.
At present, construction workers are relocating utilities at the Freedom Tower site to make way
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| Developer Larry Silverstein |
for foundation work, Silverstein said. In the coming weeks, there will be a significant increase in the number of construction workers at the site, he added, as heavy equipment is mobilized, perimeter barriers are installed, and general excavation gets underway.
Though the need for construction of a strong slurry wall to protect the site from the waters of the Hudson River means that it will be some time before office towers begin to rise visibly, the Freedom Tower is on track for completion in 2011, with tower three completed the same year, tower four completed in 2012, and tower two completed in "pretty much the same timeframe," Silverstein added.
Acknowledging that today's announcement was a long time in coming, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding Daniel Doctoroff pointed out that it's not always easy to get things done in a city like New York. "But the thing about New Yorkers … when we come together we can accomplish anything," he said. "Here we will accomplish the remarkable."
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