From the outside, 1 World Trade Center appears nearly complete. The frame is finished, the glass is up and the observation deck on the 72nd floor seems tourist-ready.
But work is still underway, and it’s hard to know precisely when those doors will open to the public and what the final bill will be.
Last week the Port Authority would only say the 1,776-foot office tower — dubbed the tallest in America — will open “later this fall.”
Thirteen years after terrorists destroyed the twin towers and killed more than 2,600 people, it’s still tough to say when the rebirth will be complete.
Way behind schedule and billions over budget, the rebuilding of Ground Zero has been an arduous journey, with the site’s owner, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, moving the finish line and upping the total cost again and again.
Delays have pervaded the World Trade Center site from the start.
The new World Trade Center was originally supposed to open in 2006, then 2011, then 2012. Last Sept. 11, the Port Authority promised it would be ready by “early 2014.”
Last week a Port Authority official told the Daily News, “We look forward to continued progress and opening up of the site, including 1 WTC later this fall.”
The agency wouldn’t be more specific.
The Condé Nast media group — the building’s biggest tenant — says it’s set to begin moving in November. The move is expected to continue through February. Workers on site have been told it will open Dec. 14 and that the observation deck won’t be ready until next summer.
Since it first emerged on the drawing boards, 1 World Trade Center — for a time known as the Freedom Tower — has nearly doubled in cost from $2 billion to $3.9 billion.
Across the newly rejuvenated Greenwich St. that now cuts through the middle of the site, the huge transportation hub with its giant ribbed canopy has evolved in a similar manner. It was originally set to open in 2006, but the Port Authority now says it won’t be finished until “late 2015.” Its cost has ballooned from $2.2 billion to $3.7 billion.
The agency won’t provide a date for the opening of the vehicle security center under the 16-acre site where all delivery vehicles will be subjected to extensive security review.
Three other towers — 2, 3 and 4 World Trade Center — are being built by developer Larry Silverstein. To date, only the 72-story 4 WTC is open, though empty. Last week the interior remained a construction site, with tenants set to arrive next month.
Construction of the 80-story 3 World Trade Center was stalled for months but is now back on track. Early this year Silverstein requested $1.2 billion in public subsidy for this building. The Port Authority balked, but in June released $159 million in insurance money set aside in escrow.
Silverstein now estimates 3 WTC will be complete in “early 2018.”
The 88-story 2 World Center is on hold, with no completion date set until Silverstein can arrange financing.
The only part of the original site that was open for business last week was the Sept. 11th Memorial & Museum. The memorial opened in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks in 2011, with the museum following in May.
Its original cost estimate was $530 million. The final bill came in at $700 million, paid by both taxpayers and private donors.
