Foster, Silverstein, and Pataki gathered to introduce plans for the WTC's "tower two"

Standing in the 25th-floor marketing office of 7 World Trade Center (WTC) on December 15th, Gov. George Pataki and developer Larry Silverstein introduced Lord Norman Foster as the architect for the site's "tower two."

The tower, located at 200 Greenwich Street (between Vesey and Fulton Streets), will be the third to open at the WTC, following 7 WTC's opening next year and the Freedom Tower's debut in 2010.

Joined by other state and city officials, as well as Sir Philip Thomas, the British Consul General in New York, Silverstein called the addition of Foster to the development team a milestone and promised that his tower "will surely be the crown jewel of the World Trade Center and New York City."

"As he has proven time and again…Norman Foster understands how to design a bold urban icon while simultaneously enhancing the environment and quality of life of the building's occupants," Silverstein said.

Situated directly north of the future WTC Transportation Hub, 200 Greenwich Street will be home to 2.4 million square feet of office space and about 130,000 square feet of retail both at street level and along the underground pedestrian link to the hub. Though Lord Foster and his team are just getting underway designing the tower, Silverstein already has planned for it to rise 65 stories and offer the latest in safety and security.

The tower also will be built to "green" specifications, incorporating environmentally sustainable systems similar to those used in 7 WTC and in the future Freedom Tower.

Lord Foster's addition marks his return to Lower Manhattan after having participated in the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's 2002 design study to rebuild and revitalize downtown and the WTC site. His company, Foster and Partners, is internationally accomplished, with project offices in more than 20 countries. Its current projects span from Beijing to Berlin, and it is already well-regarded locally for designing the Hearst headquarters tower in midtown.

"It is only fitting that one of the international community's most esteemed architects should be chosen to join an already illustrious and international group of men and women working to rebuild and revitalize Lower Manhattan," Pataki said. "The selection of Lord Norman Foster to design tower two is just the latest signal that the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site is moving forward in achieving its destiny as a world-class central business district."

Design work and site excavation and preparation are next on the tower's construction slate, with the first steel to be installed by 2009, and ribbon-cutting scheduled for 2011.