The Rebuilding of Ground Zero, Part 50

It appears that the Port Authority has come to its senses and has figured out a way to not only build the 9/11 memorial and have it open in time for the 10th anniversary, but to "save costs" on the PATH terminal that runs through the site.

The proposal to meet the 2011 deadline was made possible in part by a modification of the design for the transit hub mezzanine, a column-free space that will lie directly under part of the memorial plaza. With the help of the architect Santiago Calatrava, the authority would insert four to six columns to hold up a platform on which the memorial plaza would be built, while the mezzanine was constructed below. The plan would retain Mr. Calatrava’s grand vision for the undulating ceiling and clean expanse of the mezzanine and the dramatic birdlike design of the main building, or oculus, at street level.

The cost to build the PATH terminal is still expected to run to nearly $3 billion from current estimates of $2.5 billion and the terminal isn't expected to be open until 2014. That's unacceptable, and should be completed far sooner and at lower cost than they're claiming. Part of the problem is that the pace (a lack of urgency I've commented on before) is causing serious costs to be incurred because materials are increasing costs even if the design doesn't change. The faster the construction is built, the less it would actually cost. By dragging this out, we're incurring charges that could be avoided.

The NY Observer notes that some are calling for benchmarks to be established to make sure the Port Authority makes its deadlines.

I'm sure that the news about the memorial will help improve Steve Cuozzo's outlook on Ground Zero rebuilding, but he's been downright cranky over the PATH terminal and the building of transit infrastructure that he believes puts the cart before the horse - instead of focusing on the memorial, museum, and then office space, significant costs are going to the transit hub that would be better spent elsewhere. The problem is that once the towers start going up, there's no real estate to build the transit hub, and that's why every inch on the site is literally fought over time and time again.

It's also why Calatrava had to give in on the columns - it made the rest of the project actually work. I don't quite get why it would take until 2014 until the terminal is completed. There's no reason that the terminal should take that long to finish, and are they actually saying that the temporary entrance on Vesey at Greenwich will remain as a permanent edifice until 2014?

So, why did the Port Authority proffer this information and make it known that they can make the 10th anniversary deadline for the memorial? Well, a report comes out next week authored by Chris Ward, who was told by Gov. Paterson to get to the bottom of this and figure out what's going on. They want to get ahead of the curve and try to show that the Port Authority can make good on its word.

I'm not totally buying it, especially since the Port Authority has been dragging its feet throughout the entire process from the moment that the PATH service was restored in record time and a temporary platform built. Since then, the agency hasn't exactly conducted itself as though there's any urgency to rebuilding, and that mindset starts at the top - the governors of NY (Pataki, Spitzer, and now Paterson). They would talk a good game, but when everything was on the line, little was accomplished.

UPDATE:
The Port Authority is going to miss yet another deadline to turn over sections of Ground Zero to Larry Silverstein so that he can build the towers. The Port Authority has lagged at every step of the way, costing tens of millions of dollars in penalties in the process.

The Port Authority was supposed to turn over the site to Silverstein Properties on June 30 and since then has incurred a $300,000-a-day penalty, which it must pay the developer. Earlier this month, the Port Authority said it would turn the site over by the end of September, but according to a number of sources, that deadline will not be met.

As of the end of September, the Port Authority will have incurred $18 million in penalties for the Tower 2 site. That figure, coupled with the $14.4 million the Port Authority paid as a result of a previous missed deadline, pushes the authority's total penalties over the $30 million threshold. If the Port Authority fails to hand over the site by the end of October, the penalties will be more than $40 million.

A spokesman for the Port Authority, Steve Coleman, said the agency still plans to turn the site for Tower 2 over by the end of the month.

And you wonder why I wonder about the urgency to rebuild and get the towers built? That's it in a nutshell.