WTC Transportation Hub Won't Get Fancy Unveiling After All

The debut of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub is getting closer, but it won't get the grand unveiling you might expect for a project that cost $4.4 billion and took more than a decade to build. Instead, the Port Authority has decided to let it open quietly, with nary a public ceremony or big to-do. Politico New York reports that outgoing Port Authority executive director Pat Foye called it a "symbol of excess," and said, "Since I arrived here, I have been troubled with the huge cost of the Hub at a time of limited resources for infrastructure so I’m passing on the event." (Yikes.)

The news comes just days after the first reviews for Santiago Calatrava's massive piece of infrastructure came through, with most being fairly complimentary (with the exception of the Post's Steve Cuozzo, who called it a "lemon"). When completed, the massive station will serve the PATH's more than 50,000 daily riders, and will connect the station at the World Trade Center to 11 subway lines. There's also a Westfield mall planned for the space, though no official opening date has been set for that yet.

• Port Authority declines to celebrate Calatrava-designed transportation hub [Politico New York]
• Is Santiago Calatrava's WTC Transportation Hub a 'Lemon' or a 'Beauty'? [Curbed]
• It's Official: WTC Oculus Will Open the First Week in March [Curbed]