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Revised WTC plan features 5 (slimmer) buildings
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On September 17, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation unveiled a revised master plan for the World Trade Center site that makes some important real-world adjustments while very much preserving the existing design, both in spirit and on the ground.
Architect Daniel Libeskind's revision of his own plan maintains all the major elements of the original, unveiled to great fanfare in late February. They include the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower; a memorial plaza and "wedge of light" feeding into the intersection of Fulton and Greenwich Streets; the sunken slurry wall that will serve as a backdrop for a permanent memorial, and a grand transportation hub that will include a new PATH station.
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| Memorial plaza featuring "Wedge of Light" remains |
On hand for the plan's release, LMDC board member Roland Betts discussed the difficulty of coordinating all of the site's below-grade needs. The leader of the agency's site-plan committee, Betts underscored the fact that despite extensive work on the underground portions of the scheme, each of the plan's principal surface elements remain in their original locations.
The various "refinements and improvements," Betts said, leave the site plan "clearer, cleaner, and better."
In fact, the site has been expanded by incorporating an additional parcel extending one block south of the Liberty Street boundary of the site, between West and Washington Streets. That parcel is now occupied in part by the Deutsche Bank building, currently the subject of an insurance dispute over whether it can be salvaged or must be torn down.
According to Andrew Winters, LMDC's vice president for planning, design, and development, the addition of this parcel was a crucial element in the plan's successful revision. The most significant adjustments that resulted from the addition, Winters said, are
- the relocation of underground infrastructure, including a security zone for truck deliveries, to the Liberty Street parcel;
- increased open space slated for the Liberty Street parcel at ground level, and
- the addition of a fifth office tower at the Deutsche Bank site and the consequent slimming of other planned towers.
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In relocating to the south certain infrastructure, such as a security zone where trucks will be screened, the modified plan leaves the footprints of the original twin towers largely untouched. This action addresses concerns of many WTC victims' family members who opposed the placement of such functions underneath the memorial site. It also allows for direct truck access to the site from West Street so that large vehicles do not have to drive along smaller neighborhood streets.
The altered plan also increases the amount of open space in the overall plan by creating an additional acre-plus running from West Street to Greenwich Street, between Liberty and Cedar Streets. (Cedar would be extended one block to link Washington and Greenwich.) Apart from the memorial -- the design for which has yet to be determined -- it would be the largest individual parcel of open space on the rebuilt site. This space would serve as a buffer to the permanent memorial just to the north, while allowing for the reconstruction of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which occupied the western portion of the parcel before it was destroyed on 9/11.
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| Fifth building (in red) to be added at Deutsche Bank site |
Lastly, the construction of five office towers rather than four results in other benefits. First, by further dispersing 10 million square feet of office space, each tower can be slimmer, creating a more visually appealing setting and a feeling of greater light and airiness. Smaller footprints for each building also leads to space that is more commercially attractive, officials said.
Joseph Seymour, executive director of the Port Authority, affirmed at the unveiling of the master plan that the Deutsche Bank property is "essential" to the revised site plan. Project planners are proceeding under the assumption that the rebuilding agency will be able to obtain the parcel of land under the present Deutsche Bank building.
"We need to acquire the Deutsche Bank site," Seymour said. "That's either going to be through eminent domain or through negotiations. We've had very friendly discussions… with Deutsche Bank, and again that's something we're going to work through over the next two years."
To view a slide show of the revised World Trade Center Master Plan, presented by the LMDC on September 17, please click here.
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