NEW YORK | 175 Greenwich St. | 1,079 FT | 80 FLOORS

[JayPro]

Fellow Forumers;

It would do well for us to be reminded that the plans for the original WTC, whose last completed tower ultimately opened its doors in 1972, were first *presented to the public* in 1961.

Nineteen Sixty One. And the City Council made first *proposals* in....

...you guessed it...

1946, one year after the end of the Second World War, a 6-year time frame when almost literally *no* skyscrapers anywhere in this country were even being blueprinted, much less under construction. Plans to *proceed at all* with the complex were put on hold three years later until the public unveiling aforementioned.

All this was in preparation for two monoliths and four lowrise structures to change both the overall status and countenance of the city forever. The token resistance put up was nothing in comparison to the scare tactics, paranoid ramblings and gloom n' doom forecasting made all to often nowadays about GZ. The foremost issue back then was residential displacement, a genuinely sad yet inevitable fact of the time for a constantly expanding city, both horizontally and vertically.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court itself ultimately refused to hear a case brought up by a handful of local business owners challenging NY State's use of eminent domain powers. Remarkably, for all that's been going on nowadays, government intervention at any level has been exceptionally minimal. And for the good for all involved, I dare say.

What we have here--again, by way of reminder--is a project of massively greater scope and detail (4 supertalls that will adhere to the most stringent construction and security guidelines today, a sprawling memorial complex and a gigantic transit hub) whose plans was borne of a yearning to rebound in grand style from the worst terrorist attack on USA soil.

And again, there's that dead horse that is the multi-party squabbling that, apparently till now, had oftentimes come close to jeopardizing everything.

So where are we, rhetorically? Groundbreaking was in '02 and we're now in year '10 not yet halfway through. In light of everything I pointed out, things from my humble view are progressing at a modestly better clip with *this* complex than the first.

AS has been suggested before amongst us, the best advice to take is to let everything happen organically. Panic is our own worst enemy, especially when something from an already suspect source night be misconstrued, misinterpreted or misread on a forum like this whose onlookers are so eager to hear the slightest bit of good news.

Thank you for listening.

(Thanks also to the writers/editors of the Wiki entry for the Original WTC for relevant facts whose sources have neither been called into question nor flagged for lack of proper citation.)

[JSsocal]

I think most people here on this forum have gotten that. Its more the general public and the news media that needs to hear it. I certainly agree, we have done quite well given the circumstances, and people should take that into consideration when they look at this project and say that nothing has been done. That said there are certainly several political factors that have slowed this project down, and so we cannot dismiss the fact that there was some down time in 2003, 2004, 2005 where the site did seem like it was just sitting there, and that's where the frustration from the general public is coming from.

BTW I don't know if this belongs somewhere else, its probably a bit off topic...

[OneWorldTradeCenter]

Originally Posted by innsertnamehere

wooh! finally, we can move this tower out of proposals! maybe this thing will compete with 1wtc for the most popular supertall forum!

Yes please move it now and update the building page in the diagrams!

[Don098]

I wish this building was getting redesigned. It's soooo ugly

[djvandrake]

Originally Posted by Don098

I wish this building was getting redesigned. It's soooo ugly

Well, beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder. I'm thrilled it's not being redesigned and I think it's an incredible design.

And concering the progress discussion above; I think a lot of the frustration that people my feel about the apparent lack of progress originates from a desire to see the site flourish. The site being "under construction" is something of a lingering open wound in the psyche of many. Having completed towers and the memorial will certainly aid in the healing, and many are impatient to see it progress.

Given the shear scope of the project, with all the agencies involved and the transit hub, I realize it's an enormous multi-year effort. But that won't stop me from cheering on and celebrating progress milestones as they're reached.

[JayPro]

Originally Posted by JSsocal

I think most people here on this forum have gotten that. Its more the general public and the news media that needs to hear it. I certainly agree, we have done quite well given the circumstances, and people should take that into consideration when they look at this project and say that nothing has been done. That said there are certainly several political factors that have slowed this project down, and so we cannot dismiss the fact that there was some down time in 2003, 2004, 2005 where the site did seem like it was just sitting there, and that's where the frustration from the general public is coming from.

BTW I don't know if this belongs somewhere else, its probably a bit off topic...

I should apologize if my long-windedness before kinda steered things a bit off course. I just thought some of the dates I saw in my "research" would shed a bit more light on matters.

Further preaching to the converted aside---and more to the point---this building's design is IMO a marvelous complement to the grand skyscrapers of downtown (70 Pine, 40 Wall and 20 Exchange specifically).

It's like a hybridization of the cinematic Gotham City and a Gothic church steeple.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by djvandrake

Given the shear scope of the project, with all the agencies involved and the transit hub, I realize it's an enormous multi-year effort. But that won't stop me from cheering on and celebrating progress milestones as they're reached.

Yes, and seeing as how this one won't be above ground for more than a year, people had better sit back an relax. Besides, there will be more than enough excitement watching the Freedom Tower and tower 4 race into the sky. As a matter of fact, those towers will be topped out before the real show begins here.

[NYguy]

If Silverstein were able to get this one, he would have the minimum needed to guarantee uniterrupted construction on this tower...


http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...-update2-.html
BNY Mellon Seeks New Space, May Sell Wall St. Tower

May 18, 2010
By David M. Levitt and Charles Stein

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. is considering moving from its Manhattan headquarters and selling 1 Wall Street, the building it now occupies, Jeep Bryant, a spokesman for the bank, said in an interview.

The company sent a request for proposals to New York City landlords seeking about 450,000 square feet of space, Bryant said today by telephone. A move may prompt the bank to sell its 52-story limestone tower at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway in lower Manhattan, he said.

“We are looking for a location that might be better equipped to meet our needs,” Bryant said. “We are looking for improved client meeting space and something that can accommodate state-of-the-art technology.”

The search comes as the pace of leasing office space in New York is rising. Tenants signed contracts for 6.75 million square feet of space through the first four months of this year, almost double the amount in the same period of 2009, broker CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. said May 11. Commercial property sales are also picking up, with dollar volume tripling in the first quarter, according to broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

The possibility that the market is reaching bottom helped convince BNY Mellon to look for space, Bryant said. “Part of this exploration over the next few months is to see if that is indeed the case,” he said.

The bank expects to decide whether to lease new space and sell its headquarters by the end of the year, he said.”

[Dac150]

Was definitely anticipating this for BNY; they are one of the last holdouts which occupy that kind of building as a headquarters in Downtown. If they’re planning to stay in Lower Manhattan, then space at the WTC is right up their alley to accommodate their needs. Looking forward to hearing more about this.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by Dac150

Was definitely anticipating this for BNY; they are one of the last holdouts which occupy that kind of building as a headquarters in Downtown. If they’re planning to stay in Lower Manhattan, then space at the WTC is right up their alley to accommodate their needs. Looking forward to hearing more about this.

They're not alone int the hunt for space...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/busines...MdlYaDYz7xGyqM
Same tower, different floors

By LOIS WEISS
May 19, 2010

Despite nervous nellies fretting a while back that Manhattan would be awash in large chunks of empty office space, a sudden dearth of big blocks of available space has prompted developers to consider dusting off their plans for new, large office buildings.

Some brokers say that large block availabilities have been chipped away in central locations, leaving those needing 400,000 square feet to mull splitting their requirements within the same tower, taking some floors in one section of a building, and a group of floors in another portion.

"These days, you have to be very creative," said Peter Turchin of CB Richard Ellis. "If I need a list of 400,000 [square foot] blocks, there aren't many."

According to current Cushman & Wakefield statistics, there were just 17 blocks of 250,000 square feet available within the last six months.

...Meanwhile, various industry sources highlighted some of the current brick-kicking taking place among major corporations.

Morgan Stanley is seeking 850,000 to 1 million square feet downtown through Barry Gosin at Newmark Knight Frank, while Condé Nast, as you may have read, is also in need of one million feet. Both are looking at all the future World Trade Center towers.

Others on the hunt include:

* Société Générale for 500,000 square feet, though the French bank may renew its current lease through Pat Murphy at CB Richard Ellis.

* French advertising giant Havas, which has tapped Gosin and colleague David Falk to help it search for 400,000 square feet.

* NYU's Langone Medical Center, which is searching with Josh Kurlioff and Bruce Mosler at Cushman & Wakefield.

* Bank of New York, which has tapped Peter Riguardi at Jones Lang LaSalle in its search for 450,000 square feet.

* Neuberger Berman, which has hired NKF's Neil Goldmacher for its search for 340,000 square feet.

* Columbia Presbyterian, which is getting help from Goldmacher and colleague Mark Weiss in its quest to secure between 300,000 and 400,000 square feet.

* Men's retailer Paul Stuart, which is in the hunt for 150,000 square feet.

* Money manager Nataxis, which is nearing a deal to move into 173,000 square feet on the third through sixth floors of 1251 Avenue of the Americas thanks to Cushman & Wakefield's John Cefaly.

[OneWorldTradeCenter]

Is it still not U/C??

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by OneWorldTradeCenter

Is it still not U/C??

Dude, it will be under construction when it's under construction. Relax a bit.

[Dac150]

Morgan is definitely another big one to watch out for. They’ve been on the hunt now for a while in looking for some new more accommodative space.

[djvandrake]

I still have to wrap my head around the scale of what some of these tenants need for space. 400K sq-ft is huge in terms of your average skyscraper. Granted, all of the buildings at WTC are certainly well above average in size. (methinks I need to get into a NY state of mind. ) Landing any one of these would meet the needs for tower 3, and if enough interest can be brought to the table then maybe we can start thinking about a bright future for tower 2? Very encouraging stuff here.

[RobertWalpole]

Originally Posted by Dac150

Morgan is definitely another big one to watch out for. They’ve been on the hunt now for a while in looking for some new more accommodative space.

I would not be surprised if Morgan winds up at the Hotel Penn tower.

[pattali]

Originally Posted by NYguy

They're not alone int the hunt for space...
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Same tower, different floors

By LOIS WEISS
May 19, 2010

Excuse me LOIS

Nataxis is French banker NATIXIS (Banque Populaire & Caisse d'epargne) at 1251 ave of the America.

[OneWorldTradeCenter]

I heard that actual foundation work will start in July at Tower 2 and 3.

[uaarkson]

Wasn't this supposed to start today?

[CoolCzech]

I find it amazing how in NYC, there is always either a "glut of office space" or a "dire dearth of office space," depending on which week you check in.

[OneWorldTradeCenter]

Lower Manhattan.info did not update their information yet.