Silverstein To Begin Work on Tower 2 Foundation

NEW YORK CITY-Just as Gov. David Paterson started to put pressure on the Port Authority’s timeline and budget, the P.A. revealed that it will have completed 90% of the excavation and construction of the Tower 2 “bathtub” foundation on the World Trade Center site by the end of June, but that the full 1.4-acre site would not be completed until August. Silverstein Properties has agreed to begin work in the Tower 2 foundation, allowing for their initial construction to begin as the Port Authority is completing the final stages of excavation and construction on the bathtub.

Under an agreement with its contractor, Phoenix Constructors, the Port Authority will not pay an approximately $8 million to $14 million incentive payment for on time completion of the Tower 2 bathtub. According to a prepared statement, “the Port Authority will meet its obligations under the Master Development Agreement for the site, paying Silverstein Properties $300,000 a day, beginning July 1, until the fully completed Tower 2 bathtub is turned over.”

World Trade Center Properties president Janno Lieber says in a prepared statement that “the Port Authority is making steady progress in constructing a new bathtub at the site of future World Trade Center Tower 2 at 200 Greenwich St. Everyone at Silverstein Properties is eager to start select work in July and looking forward to expanding over the entire Tower 2 site later this summer.”