Let Freedom Rise

Cornerstone Laid for World's Tallest Tower

by Natalie Keith

Almost three years after the world saw the twin towers collapse into ashes, the cornerstone was laid for the 1,776-ft. Freedom Tower in a July 4 groundbreaking ceremony. It will be the world's tallest tower and the new icon of the World Trade Center site.

"Today we begin construction of what will be the most recognizable and symbolic icon on the world's most revered skyline," said developer Larry Silverstein, of Silverstein Properties. "The Freedom Tower will forever stand as a testament to our resilience, our resolve and our glorious rebirth."

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A host of city and state officials, downtown community leaders and families of those who lost loved ones Sept. 11 attended the ceremony. The inscription on the cornerstone, read aloud during the ceremony, says "To honor and remember those who lost their lives on September 11th, 2001 and as a tribute to the enduring spirit of freedom - July Fourth, 2004."

It is estimated that construction on the entire site will create an average of 8,000 full-time jobs each year until 2015.

The cornerstone for the Freedom Tower is made from a 20-ton granite block quarried from the Barton Mines in the Adirondacks. The cornerstone measure 9 ft. by 4 ft. by 4 ft. and is flecked with garnet, the official gem of New York State. Other minerals found in the stone are feldspar, quartz and hornblende, which give the stone a light-green tone from different views.

Innovative Stone of Hauppauge, N.Y., donated the stone worth $14,000. Innovative Stone supervised the cutting, polishing, engraving and leafing of the inscription; transportation of the stone to Ground Zero which was donated by RoadTex of Hillside, N.J.; and the installation of the stone at the groundbreaking ceremony.

This project is a symbol of triumph and renewal," said Innovative Stone CEO and founder Karen Pearse.

Barton Quarries, a division of Barton Mines Company LLC, quarried the stone in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York for Innovative.

"May this stone be a lasting tribute to the birth of our nation on Independence Day and our rebirth following the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001," said Charles Bracken Jr., chairman of the Barton Group.

Before construction of the Freedom Tower begins, the remnants of a parking garage under the former 6 World Trade Center must be removed. That process will be completed by the end of the year. At the same time, test borings will be done at the site prior to the installation of the Freedom Tower's foundation. Work crews will reinforce the bathtub wall and construct below-grade infrastructure for the tower and adjoining areas, officials said.

The tower, located in the northwest corner of the World Trade Center site, will be the world's tallest building when it is complete. Steel for the tower is expected to rise into 2006 with initial occupancy slated for late 2008.

"The construction of the tower is only one component of a master plan for the World Trade Center site that will ultimately consist of a world-class memorial, state-of-the-art intermodal transportation hub, and diverse retail, commercial and cultural facilities," said Joseph Seymour, executive director of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

The tower will contain 2.6 million sq. ft. of office space on 72 floors, and connect directly to the World Trade Center PATH Station and to New York City subway lines. The building will contain a roof top restaurant and an observation deck. Above the occupied floors of the skyscraper, a latticework structure will rise up to 1,500 ft., officials said.

The design of the Freedom Tower culminates the spiraling composition of the site's master plan while incorporating the dynamic movement in the unique geometric torque of its form. The asymmetrical form of the tower evokes the dynamic twisting form of the Statue of Liberty, according to architect David Childs, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, of New York, N.Y.

"The Freedom Tower is, first and foremost, a New York building. Because its form is a direct response to the anomalous angles of the street grid at its precise location, it is not a building that could be anywhere else but on this site in Lower Manhattan," Childs said.

Silverstein has plans to build four more office towers on the site between 2009 and 2015. But, under a recent court ruling, Silverstein will receive a maximum of $4.5 billion in insurance proceeds and some have questioned his ability to complete the plan in its entirety. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Silverstein was confident in his ability to complete the project saying all five towers would be constructed.

Plans for other portions of the site are well underway. Construction of an office tower at 7 World Trade Center is continuing and a design for the World Trade Center memorial, called "Reflecting Absence" was selected. Construction of the memorial is expected to begin in 2006.

In June, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation offered space in a planned 250,000-sq.-ft. performance arts center to the Joyce Theater Foundation and the Signature Theater Company. Space in a planned 250,000-sq.-ft. cultural center was offered at the same time to the Drawing Center and the Freedom Center. Completion of each of these buildings is expected by 2009.