Members of the downstate and New York City chapter of SIOR tour 7 WTC

Members of the downstate and N.Y.C. chapter of SIOR recently had the opportunity to tour Silverstein Property's newly constructed 7 World Trade Center (WTC). In addition to touring the available space in this Gold LEED certified building, the group was treated to insight into the state of the art construction and security features in the building, like a reinforced concrete core and a steel superstructure. Safety systems exceed the city's building code and Port Authority requirements, and are expected to form the basis for future high-rise building codes. The building also showcases some of Larry Silverstein's art installations, including a scrolling multi media wall at the lobby entrance and sculpture in the garden across the street by Jeff Koons. As the new tower is located north of the WTC site, the tour also gave everyone a chance to see progress on the balance of the WTC site. Interestingly, 7 WTC was the last to fall on September, 11th 2001, but was the first building redeveloped and opened in May, 2006. In addition, 4 WTC is currently undergoing foundation work and the structural steel for the Freedom Tower's core is now 300' above street level, and is hoped to be finished in 2014. Towers 2 and 3 will commence construction once the subsurface work on the N.J. Path Trains is completed. With the closing of the viewing center at the WTC site, the group had the unparalleled vantage point of the recently leased top floor of this 52-story building. This tour struck a personal note for all in attendance, while the events of 9-11 assuredly touched all Americans, those of us residing in metro N.Y. all remember exactly where we were when we realized the magnitude of that awful terrorist attack and we were touched in ways that few could ever have imagined prior to that day. The rebuilding of lower Manhattan both at the WTC site and the infrastructure improvements to mass transit will certainly shape the future of all of N.Y.C. and significantly impact the whole metro area.