Construction is set to begin in October 2011 and conclude in 2013

Brookfield Properties unveiled plans for a $250 million overhaul of the World Financial Center (WFC) in Battery Park City last week. The plan includes construction of a new West Street glass pavilion, to serve as the entry house for the Port Authority’s “east-west connector.” That connector will, in 2013, form an underground pedestrian link between the World Trade Center (WTC) and WFC.

The new pavilion is being designed by world-renowned architect Pelli Clarke Pelli, the original designer of the WFC complex, and is expected to accommodate the existing Winter Garden marble staircase.

“The World Financial Center Winter Garden has served as Lower Manhattan’s grand and welcoming public space for the past twenty years,” said Ric Clark, Brookfield Office Properties’ CEO. “In cooperation with the Battery Park City Authority and the Department of City Planning, we are pleased to be moving forward with a plan that incorporates the existing Winter Garden staircase and repositions the World Financial Center for decades to come.”

Also part of the overhaul, the company plans to expand the WFC’s retail slate, adding high-end fashion, a 25,000-square-foot European-style gourmet marketplace, and more waterfront dining.

In addition, a dramatic glass pavilion on West Street will link the Center to Lower Manhattan’s new transit hubs and serve as the main entranceway to the eight-million-square-foot complex. Construction is set to begin in October 2011 and conclude in 2013.