Meanwhile, we're getting the first look at the commerical retail component of the reconstuction. The retail shops will be incorporated as part of the transit hub and be nothing like the retail mall that was at the WTC before 9/11. It will have an airy feel to it, as light from Calatrava's atrium will be able to filter in. I expect some families to have reservations about building retail shops on Ground Zero, but this is going to happen.
Mayor Bloomberg is finally getting around to casting an eye towards Lower Manhattan. It's about time, though his power is limited due to the fact that Gov. Pataki controls or dominates the public authorities that oversee the reconstruction of Ground Zero and Lower Manhattan improvements. This article notes that Silverstein and the Port Authority are in disagreement over how much retail space to include in the retail component outlined above and at what pace that space should be developed and suggests that Bloomberg should take sides.
We also get word that Ronald Betts a crony to Tom Bernstein has called it quits from the LMDC over the decision by Gov. Pataki to give the IFC the boot. Go figure.
UPDATE:
Steve Cuozzo is hopeful over the released designs for the retail complex at Calatrava's transit hub. He, however, cautions that some families may seek to derail the project with lawsuits, but notes that once the Port Authority commits to build something, it has a good track record of finishing what it starts on time.
UPDATE:
The New York Sun reports that the retail companies that are depicted in the sketches released showing the commercial component of the transit hub have not committed to the site. The designers used 'artistic license' in their renderings.
But there's a catch - none of the retailers included in the images has committed to renting space at the site, where shopping is scheduled to begin in 2010.
The episode is the latest in a series of missteps that have marked the effort to rebuild at the site of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Two of the cultural institutions slated for the site, the Drawing Center and the International Freedom Center, have withdrawn. The one tower that has been rebuilt, 7 World Trade Center, lacks a major tenant. And plans for the Freedom Tower, the largest building at the site, have been reworked amid security concerns.
Asked why the retailers were pictured in the plans without having agreed to open stores at the site, a spokesman for the Port Authority, Steven Coleman, said the images were examples of "artistic license."
He said he was not sure if the retailers knew they were pictured in the Port Authority's renderings. "That's not to say they won't open stores there," he said.
None of the retailers contacted by The New York Sun would say whether they plan to open outlets at ground zero. Many were unaware they had been included in renderings of the project.
Technorati: World Trade Center, WTC, Pataki, LMDC, urban policy, Freedom Tower, IFC, International Freedom Center.
No comments:
Post a Comment