Construction cranes are shown perched on top of One World Trade Center on June 25.The steel skeleton of the skyscraper has been completed and the next step is adding the glass'skin.''/Associated Press file photo
NEW YORK—The steel skeleton atop One World Trade Center is complete,reaching 105 stories–with the building's glass"skin"and a spire soon to follow.
"We have topped out at 105 stories.We put the president's beam in two weeks ago and topped out the steel—you can literally stand on the roof,"said Bill Baroni,Port Authority of New York and New Jersey deputy executive director,adding that he's stood on the roof of what is now the tallest building in Manhattan.
The"presidential"beam was signed by President Barack Obama when he visited the site on June 14.Also signing the symbolic white beam were Gov.Chris Christie,New York Gov.Andrew Cuomo,New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and site construction workers.
One World Trade Center reclaimed its title as the tallest building in New York on April 30,when a 26-foot-high beam was hoisted and bolted into place,making the tower 1,271 feet high–not counting a 308-foot broadcast antenna that will top the building.
The next major work will be installation of the base for the spire and antenna mast,Baroni said.That will bring the building's height to 1,776 feet.That spire will be hoisted to the top of the trade center in pieces after the concrete base is installed,he said.
"The big thing you can see is the glass will go in faster,"Baroni said.
As the tower has risen,progress on One World Trade Center has been visible from miles away in New York and New Jersey.Other parts of the site,including the transportation hub connecting PATH trains to ferries and 10 New York City subway lines,are becoming recognizable,Baroni said.
"You can see it taking that shape that our(conceptual)pictures show,"he said.
Completion of One World Trade Center is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2013 or the first quarter of 2014,officials said.
Visible progress on the tower will have a psychological effect that could help with the leasing of the remaining 45 percent of One World Trade Center and the rest of the site,said James Hughes,dean of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
About one year ago when One World Trade Center started to be visible(in the skyline),it was thrilling to see how the Goldman Sachs tower(in Jersey City)played off it,"Hughes said."It's a signature event—it can only help with the marketability of lower Manhattan.We'll see how it plays out."
About 55 percent of the space in the office tower has been leased to tenants such as publisher Conde Nast,Vantone China Center and the federal General Services Administration,which have leased a total of almost 1.7 million square feet of 3.5 million square feet of space,which includes an observation deck.
"The real driving force is Conde Nast moving from 42nd Street to the World Trade Center,"Hughes said."Their decision to locate on 42nd Street transformed it from a frontier to a hot place to bet.(One WTC)will still be subject to cyclical(economic)forces.Market forces are still in play in filling the rest of the building."
Another factor that could help in leasing the rest of One World Trade Center and its smaller sister structure at 4 World Trade will be completion of the transportation center,which will link the PATH,close to a dozen subway links and Hudson River ferries.
"Once the transportation center opens,they may be the key to transforming it into a spectacular space.You're bringing in subway lines that were previously disjointed;you'll have the soaring PATH hall and connections to everything underground that many can't imagine,"he said."It will make it(the site)more attractive."
Completion of the tower's steel is a positive note for a project that been plagued by cost overruns,delays and other headaches for the agency.
A report by Navigant Consulting Inc.and Rothschild Inc.found that World Trade Center redevelopment costs grew from an estimated$11 billion in 2008 to a current estimate of about$14.8 billion.Port Authority officials reiterated that after reimbursements from third parties are factored in,the estimated net of that cost increase grew from$6 billion to approximately$7.7 billion at the site.
That audit was ordered by the two governors as a condition of approving a phased-in hike of bridge and tunnel tolls and PATH rail fares,which went into effect last September.
