By: Amy Westfeldt
Associated Press
NEW YORK - Nearly three years after the twin towers fell,
a 20-ton block of granite will be set in place Sunday to
mark the official start of construction on the 1,776-foot
tower that will rise on the site of the World Trade Center
But plans for the site are far from being set in stone.
Details in the design of the $1.5 billion Freedom Tower,
announced last year as a compromise between feuding
architects, are still changing. Trade center leaseholder
Larry Silverstein still has not signed an anchor tenant for
the 70-story tower. And a recent trial over insurance proceeds
limited how much he can collect, prompting some to question
whether all five proposed office towers on the site will be built.
Despite the uncertainty, Sunday's cornerstone-laying is
"an incredible step for the rebuilding of ground zero,"
said Daniel Libeskind, the designer who conceived the
site's original master plan.
The Freedom Tower is set to rise in a corner of the site that
still holds the ruins of a parking garage. At 1,776 feet, a
height meant to symbolize the year of America's independence,
it will be the tallest skyscraper in the world.
It will be several months before progress is seen above street
level, and five years until it is completed. Crews will spend
most of the rest of the year demolishing parts of the garage,
removing some sections for historic preservation.
Relatives of the Sept. 11 victims worry that construction
will damage the nearby slurry wall, the last remnant of the
tower complex, and the trade center footprint.
"This is a priceless piece of our American history," said
Anthony Gardner, a Coalition of 9/11 Families member
whose brother was killed. He said the construction is
premature until more is done to preserve the footprint.
The new building will include at least 60 stories of offices
and open space for stores and a restaurant at the top.
(AP) Manuel Hernandez of Innovative Stone in Hauppauge,
N.Y., power washes a 20-ton hunk of granite...
The building's height remained the same and, after much
discussion, so did a 276-foot spire meant to resemble the
Statue of Liberty's torch.
But Childs said more changes are possible, including
adjustments to the spire's structure that would change
the positioning of cables underneath the spire.
"It's such a complicated building and it demands so much
because it's got to be the best," Childs said.
He added that the initial design of the project represents just
"1 percent of the work."
Meanwhile, fears about the development's future were
stoked earlier this year when a federal jury sharply limited
Silverstein's insurance payments.
Silverstein, who leases the site for $10 million a month from
the Port Authority, had claimed that the destruction of the
twin towers was two attacks, not one, and that he was
entitled to an insurance payout of $7 billion instead of
$3.5 billion. But he now has a chance to collect no more
than $4.5 billion.
The Port Authority recently asked Silverstein to provide
more details about how he plans to honor his 99-year lease.
The developer has said he has an "unconditional right and
obligation" to rebuild and plans to use insurance and
"traditional financing methods" to pay for it.
Robert Yaro, chairman of the Regional Plan Association,
a nonprofit think tank, said he is skeptical Silverstein will
have the money to complete the four additional towers
between 2009 and 2015. He said that the project might
have to be scaled back, or Silverstein might have give
up control over part of the site.
"It's going to be hard for him to commit to a schedule for
rebuilding unless the marketplace is there," Yaro said.
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