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World Trade Center Site News

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and the Assembly Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions is holding a hearing on Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 10:30 am at 7 World Trade Center, 25 floor.  Testimony is by invitation only.  According to the notice, "This hearing will seek the details and status of the plans and timetable for the redevelopment of Ground Zero and the surrounding structures, as well as examine the utilization of the incentive programs intended to spur the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan." Click here to view the hearing notice.

(4/2006) City and state officials have agreed upon a financial plan to redevelop Ground Zero.  The proposal still requires the consent of Larry Silverstein, who leased the trade center buildings from the Port Authority shortly before they were destroyed on September 11, 2001.

Under the new plan, the Freedom Tower project would be spearheaded by the Port Authority using $1.7 billion in tax-exempt Liberty Bonds and about $970 million in insurance money.  The Pataki administration would also provide $250 million while recruiting federal agencies to enlist as tenants in the building.  Silverstein would be paid to build the tower and would be given additional Liberty Bonds to develop three nearby office buildings along Church Street.  The Port Authority would also work with Silverstein to design a shopping mall at the base of these Church street towers.

For a more detailed discussion of the plan and the process by which it is being hashed out, click here to read Charles Bagli's article in the New York Times.

(12/2005) The New York City Industrial Development Agency proposed the allocation of $3.345 billion of Liberty Bonds to World Trade Center Properties LLC (an affiliate of Silverstein Properties, Inc.) to develop office towers on the World Trade Center site.  The five buildings would contain approximately 10,000,000 square feet of Class A office space, an observation deck and limited ancillary space. 

This project was on the calendar for the IDA's December 8, 2005 public hearing.  Because World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein and city officials continue to negotiate over proposed conditions that would be attached to his receiving the bonds, the IDA board has indefinitely put off a vote to approve the deal.

Click here to view the NYC Industrial Development Agency's project documents, including the cost-benefit analysis, job projections, and a timeline for the project.  Please note that we omitted a section listing civil proceedings in which World Trade Center Properties LLC is a defendant (cases mostly related to the events of September 11, 2001).  

Click here to view Good Jobs New York's testimony at the December 8 hearing.

Read the Daily News' coverage of the project announcement.