Karen Kozlowski, a partner in the real estate department of Sullivan & Worcester LLP, tells GlobeSt.com that while the report states that the partial or total collapse of the building due to fires was a rare event, the NIST still "urge building owners, operators and designers to evaluate [existing] buildings to ensure adequate fire performance of the structural system." She notes that seems a bit like 20/20 hindsight, adding that the bigger question is how it will affect the industry. "Will tenants now require landlords to do such an evaluation? Will insurance companies, prior to insuring buildings, require such an evaluation? How will developers get construction loans on a going forward basis? Will they be required to comply with existing standards …suggested by NIST?" she wonders. "Plus, won't the cost of developing new buildings be so much greater if developers are required to comply with these new standards?"

One building owner has already jumped on board with new safety guidelines. Building owner, Silverstein Properties Inc., implemented structural and life-safety measures in the rebuilding of 7 WTC, which, according to a prepared statement, "set a new standard in modern skyscraper design --a standard that is being carried through to every tower we are building at the new World Trade Center."

The safety measures Silverstein is referring to for the newly rebuilt 7 WTC include: increased robustness and redundancy of steel; two-foot think reinforced concrete walls to protect the building's core for the full height of the tower; and a laminated, structurally fortified wall as well as columns in the building lobby serve as a blast shield. Safety enhancements as far as evacuation is concerned include: exit stairs are 20% wider than required by NYC building codes; four fire stairways exit directly to the outside; widely-separated stairs are equipped with emergency lighting and glow-in-the-dark paint and are pressurized and smoke-purged to resist the intrusion of smoke. The "new standard in modern skyscraper design," that was mentioned in the statement include: fireproofing material used to protect the steel structure that is 10 times as adhesive and twice as thick as required by building codes; dual standpipes and water storage capacity for the building sprinkler system that are double that required by code; and a fresh air intake system located at the top of the tower, which includes multiple levels of filters.