Word: grounde
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Still, real estate insiders are skeptical about whether ground zero's master plan--10 million sq. ft. of office space and 600,000 sq. ft. of retail--has allowed emotion to rule over pragmatism. "The market itself doesn't have a need for this much space," says Richard Leone, president of the Century Foundation and a former chairman of the Port Authority. "[This plan] is about making beautiful buildings...
...firms and investment banks that for decades had anchored Wall Street. Immediately after 9/11, many financial firms, including Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase, moved their employees to other locations around the city and to nearby Jersey City, N.J. Government officials persuaded Goldman Sachs to erect a building near ground zero, but at a cost of more than $1.6 billion in Liberty Bonds--low-cost, tax-exempt bonds issued by the city and state governments. The city and state provided an additional $150 million in tax breaks...
...thought by building this impressive complex, it would make downtown a competitor. But so much space came up at once, and there just wasn't the demand to fill it." New York State even moved some offices there to help keep the rent rolls filled. The latest plans for ground zero call for the same 10 million sq. ft. of office space as the original World Trade Center, but the site's potential as a repeat target may repel business. "People don't want to work in a building with a bull's-eye on it," says Fainstein. "It doesn...
...biggest remaining question mark hanging over ground zero is the fate of its controversial centerpiece. The plan for the Freedom Tower has always been more emotional response than business proposition, born out of a desire to show the world that Americans would not be cowed by terrorists. "We have a public responsibility to rebuild ground zero, and it's incumbent on us to build a tower of freedom and democracy," says Charles Gargano, vice chairman for the Port Authority. "We need a signature building. It's not just a real estate project...
...struggle for control over the Freedom Tower, which would reclaim the title of tallest building in New York City, has compounded the delays at ground zero. Silverstein repeatedly clashed with Libeskind, eventually bringing in his own architect, David Childs, who reached a messy compromise with Libeskind over the design. The relatives of the victims don't speak as one: some want development; other don't. They are more concerned about the memorial itself, which has become a separate battle. Last summer, just as construction was to begin, the blueprints had to be reworked because of safety concerns raised...