Despite fears, no damage was done to the construction site or the nearby memorial and mementoes from the original World Trade Centre, which are to form part of a museum.
Dubbed ‘Freedom Tower’ by many, 1 World Trade Centre will be 1,776 feet tall when it is completed, the highest building in the US, and exceeding the original World Trade Centre by approximately 400 feet.
A full 69 of the building’s 74 floors will be designated for office space, while the rest, approximately 55,000 square feet, have been designated for retail.
Though the building is not due to be completed until late 2013, some of the office space has already been leased.
Media giant Conde Nast has agreed to rent 1,000,000 square feet of office space to house its 18 magazines, a deal worth an estimated USD 2 billion over 25 years.
Located between floors 64 and 69 will be the ‘China Centre’, a joint project between the New York and New Jersey Port Authority and Beijing-based Vantone Industrial Co. The centre will be a hub for Chinese firms developing their US operations.
Additionally, the State of New York has agreed to rent 415,000 square feet of the building for 15 years, with an option to extend the lease up to 1,000,000 square feet.
On September 11th of this year, the World Trade Center memorial site will open to family members of those killed in the terrorist attacks of 2001. A day later, the site will open to the general public.
Already over 300,000 people from 65 different countries have reserved passes for the memorial.
Editor’s notes: One WTC successfully completed and officially opened in November 2014 with a total project cost of $3.9 billion.
At 1,776 feet, it is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The exact height was deliberate so as to represent the year of the Declaration of Independence.