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Major Pedestrian Corridor Opens at World Trade Center Site

High Rise Facilities | October 24, 2013
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The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Westfield Group and Brookfield Office Properties today celebrated the opening of the World Trade Center West Concourse, restoring a critical pedestrian transit connection lost on September 11, 2001. The underground corridor will provide a vital link for tens of thousands of daily commuters and tourists at the World Trade Center, signaling a major milestone in the redevelopment of the 16-acre site.

The World Trade Center West Concourse, which runs below West Street, links the World Trade Center PATH Station on the east end of the concourse to Brookfield Place Pavilion (formerly known as the World Financial Center) and the Battery Park City Ferry Terminal on the west end of the concourse. It replaces the Vesey Street pedestrian bridge, which pedestrians used after 9/11 to cross the heavily traveled West Street.

The 600-foot long marble-clad corridor, designed by Santiago Calatrava and built by the Port Authority, is the first component of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub to open to the public. The climate-controlled World Trade Center West Concourse will feature bi-level world- class retail offerings managed by the Westfield Group.

“The World Trade Center will be more than a place to work or visit,” said Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye. “This will also be an unparalleled destination in a premier business location in the heart of a world-class city. This vital connection is another major step toward fulfilling our vision of creating a vibrant, dynamic and transit-oriented World Trade Center site.”

“The opening of the World Trade Center West Concourse to Brookfield Place is an exciting and long anticipated breakthrough which will change and enhance the travel experience for all who live, work and visit downtown,” said Brookfield Office Properties Chief Executive Officer Dennis Friedrich. “Brookfield Place will be at the pivotal core of a regional network easily accessible to Grand Central Terminal and Brooklyn residential neighborhoods as well as Penn Station and communities along the New Jersey waterfront. At the same time, Brookfield Place, both destination and hub, is undergoing a $250 million redesign and renovation as one of the most spectacular waterfront luxury shopping and dining locations in the nation.”

“We are delighted to join the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in celebrating this important milestone that reflects the meaningful progress being made on the World Trade Center campus,” said Westfield’s U.S. Chief Operating Officer Greg Miles. “Opening in 2015, with a collection of 150 iconic brands, unique dining opportunities and a range of New York centric services and amenities, Westfield World Trade Center will emerge as an integral part of the social fabric of Downtown Manhattan.”

One of the premier features of the new World Trade Center West Concourse will be the world-class shopping, dining and amenities curated by the Westfield Group. In February

2012, the Port Authority partnered with Westfield, a leading worldwide retail property owner to develop, lease and operate approximately 350,000 square feet of retail and dining space at the site. Westfield has one of the world’s largest shopping center portfolios with investments in 100 shopping centers worldwide valued in excess of $67 billion.

The west side of the concourse will link to a new pavilion designed by renowned Pelli Clark Pelli Architects and built by Brookfield Office Properties as an entryway to its iconic Winter Garden. The pavilion is part of Brookfield’s $250-million renovation to transform the retail and public space at Brookfield Place.

The next phase of the Transit Hub project will continue the West Concourse east through the innovative World Trade Center Transportation Hub. When completed in 2015, the Hub will be the most integrated network of underground pedestrian walkways in New York City, seamlessly connecting more than 200,000 daily commuters and millions of annual visitors from around the world to PATH, multiple ferries and to eleven MTA subway lines and the redeveloped Fulton Street Transit Center.

The WTC West Concourse is the most recent major milestone achieved at the World Trade Center site. In May, crews installed the final two sections of the 408-foot steel spire at One World Trade Center, bringing the tower to its symbolic height of 1,776 feet. The spire will serve as a state-of-the-art broadcast facility that will provide unparalleled transmission services for the region’s broadcast outlets. The Port Authority has reached 70 percent of its rent and income target for One World Trade Center, which is expected to be completed early next year. Tenants will include publishing giant Condé Nast, Vantone China Center and the U.S. General Services Administration.

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Category: New York City

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