The Port Authority has completed site prep and infrastructure work for all three of the towers that will rise from the East Bathtub at the World Trade Center site—that's Towers 2, 3, and 4, for those that like things to be numbered—and they'll finally turn over full site control to developer Larry Silverstein "in the next few days." Glad tidings! And a mere eight months since the Authority had to start shelling out $300k a day to Silverstein in penalties—a total that comes to, in our very rough estimate, $67.5 million. Though of course, none of this resolve the slapfight between the PA and Silverstein, who also wants the Authority to help finance construction on the towers. The Architects Newspaper has a nice behind-the-scenes take on the current insanity.
Meantime, the memorial portion of the site is moving along, and officials vow to have portions of it—the waterfall memorials and 75% of the of the white oak trees—ready for the 10th anniversary in 2011. Says a Port Authority exec, cryptically, "With all the progress that is taking place on the site, it's not even Ground Zero anymore."
· WTC Exceptionalism [Architects Newspaper]
· Developer To Get Trade Center Site [Bloomberg]
· WTC Waterfalls Ready for 10th Anniversary [NYDN]
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