Six Plans for WTC Site Unveiled (7/16/02)

by Jason Feldman

A 3-D model of Memorial Plaza. (Click on image to see larger format)

A 3-D model of Memorial Square. (Click on image to see larger format)

A 3-D model of Memorial Triangle. (Click on image to see larger format)

A 3-D model of Memorial Garden. (Click on image to see larger format)

A 3-D model of Memorial Park. (Click on image to see larger format)

A 3-D model of Memorial Promenade. (Click on image to see larger format)

The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (LMDC) and the Port Authority of NY&NJ (PA) unveiled six urban design concepts for the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan today.

All of the plans share the following common elements:

• A permanent memorial honoring the victims of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001
• Public open space
• 11 million sq. ft. of commercial office space
• 600,000 sq. ft. of retail space
• A 600,000 sq. ft. hotel
• A transportation hub that will link downtown subways, PATH, ferries and a possible connection to commuter trains
• Cultural and civic institutions
• A rebuilt St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
• Offsite residential projects

"After a compressed period of intensive creative work, we think these six plans represent a wide range of planning ideas for further discussion. We look forward to public feedback as we move into the next phase," said John H. Beyer, founding partner of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, the lead designer.

The six plans are called Memorial Plaza, Memorial Square, Memorial Triangle, Memorial Garden, Memorial Park and Memorial Promenade.

Memorial Plaza will feature an 8-acre open space bordered by extensions to Fulton and Greenwich streets, and by Liberty and West streets, which would include a memorial and cultural facilities. A tall, freestanding tower would be located at the northwest corner of the site. The plan includes 18 acres of new public space and five office towers. The plan does not build on the Twin Towers' footprint and no property will be acquired or demolished. West Street would be turned into a tunnel, allowing the creation of a memorial promenade linking Battery Park to the site.

Memorial Square will provide a 10-acre open square that accommodates a range of cultural and memorial spaces, including a tower, and a multilevel cultural and memorial walkway that would extend to Battery park, Liberty Island and Ellis Island. This plan includes four office towers and 24.1 acres of public space including parks, walkways and streets. Greenwich Street would be extended through the site. Thirteen acres of new property would be acquired to create a cultural district or new park space. West Street would run underground, allowing creation of a memorial promenade linking the site to Battery Park.

Memorial Triangle features a 5-acre triangular open space surrounded by memorial buildings on the block between Liberty, Vesey, West and Greenwich streets. Greenwich Street would extend through the site. The plan includes memorial, cultural and commercial facilities, six towers and 13.2 acres of public space to contain promenades, streets, squares, walkways and an enclosed galleria. In this plan West Street is not put underground, instead a raised pedestrian platform will connect the upper level of the Winter Garden. The land does not build on the footprint of the south tower, includes a public pavilion on the footprint of the north tower, and does not require the acquisition of additional land.

Memorial Garden will include a 4-acre open space bordered by extensions of Greenwich and West streets. Additionally, the southwest section of the site will house memorial and cultural facilities. The plan also includes the construction of five office towers and 6.8 acres of public space.

Memorial Park featuring memorial sites included on in a 6-acre park, partially situated on a deck that would cross from West Street to the World Financial Center. The plan includes five office towers, a 1,500-ft.-tall beacon at Church and Liberty streets and extension of Fulton, Cortlandt and Greenwich streets. The plan creates 14.4 acres of public land and calls for the acquisition of parts of Deutsche Bank and the parking lot at Cedar and West streets.

Memorial Promenade will include a large oval park on a deck above West Street, as well as new public squares, memorial sites, museum sites and cultural buildings. An 18-acre tree-lined promenade would connect a museum to be built on the site to Battery Park.

"These are site plans," stressed John C. Whitehead, chairman of the LMDC. "They only represent what might be built at ground level. They can be mixed and matched," he added.

All of these plans will be linked to the new transportation hub that will be constructed underneath the WTC site.

"We are currently working on rebuilding the 1&9 subway tunnel and a temporary station for PATH. But, they are not enough. We want to build an intermodal transportation hub at the WTC site to provide seamless connections for commuters," said Anthony Cracchiolo, director of priority capital programming for the PA. He added that 85 percent of all workers arrive downtown via public transit.

The plan for the hub would include a long connecting corridor running from West Street to Fulton and Nassau streets, where it would connect to a new transit center, said Cracchiolo. He also said that provisions will be made for a future connection to the Long Island Rail Road and the Second Avenue Subway.

Photos courtesy of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.