Designed by architects David Childs and Daniel Libeskind, the 1,776-foot tower will be the tallest in the world. Officials are hoping to break ground on the new tower on Sept. 11, 2004 - the third anniversary of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.

Officials unveiled the final designs for the tower at a ceremony last year at Federal Hall, where the first U.S. Congress met and wrote the Bill of Rights and George Washington was inaugurated as president.

The idea of creating the world's tallest tower was first proposed by Libeskind in his plan for the World Trade Center site, Memory Foundations, and given form by design architect Childs, of Skidmore Owings and Merrill.

The building will contain 2.6 million sq. ft. of office space in approximately 60 stories clad in shimmering glass. Above the occupied spaces, a lacy structure of tension cables that brace the building, similar to those found in the Brooklyn Bridge, will continue rising up to 1,500 feet. On top of the truss at 1,500 feet, the spire will rise another 276 feet to 1,776 feet.

 

WTC Memorial Design Selected

Architects Michael Arad and Peter Walker unveiled their refined design for a memorial at the World Trade Center site called "Reflecting Absence." It will honor those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 and Feb. 26, 1993 terrorist attacks.

In what became the largest design competition in history, 5,201 submissions were received from 63 nations and 49 states. All 5,201 proposals were evaluated by a 13-member memorial jury comprised of individuals representing various points of view, including world renowned artists and architects, a family member, a Lower Manhattan resident and business owner, representatives of the governor and mayor, and other prominent arts and cultural professionals.

The jury evaluated proposals in a two stage process based on how well each design expressed the mission statement and program, as set forth in the competition guidelines.

LMDC Holds M/WBE Conference

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation held a conference to provide minority- and women-owned businesses with information about contracting opportunities and the overall effort to rebuild Lower Manhattan.

LMDC held the conference Jan. 13 with the cooperation of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Manhattan Borough President's office and the city and state of New York.

In October, the LMDC released an economic analysis of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. The construction of the World Trade Center site will sustain an average of 8,000 full-time jobs each year until 2015 in New York City and up to 11,000 jobs per year and up to $19 billion in cumulative economic activity throughout the New York/New Jersey region.

After construction is finished in 2015, ongoing operations of the businesses and institutions at the site and spending by visitors will increase the state's economic output by $16 billion annually, resulting in approximately 90,000 full-time jobs.