Business
& Labor
Port Authority Assumes Control of WTC Memorial
(archrecord.construction.com - 08/22/2006)
By Sam Lubell
On July 6 the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey, owner of the World Trade Center (WTC)
site, assumed control over building the memorial and its museum.
The WTC Memorial Foundation ceded control over construction,
but will continue fundraising; it also will maintain power
over the Memorial’s design and manage the project once
it is complete.
The foundation was criticized when its
chosen construction company, Bovis Lend Lease, said in May
that the memorial’s estimated cost could double to almost
$1 billion. The “Sciame Report,” which was approved
by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation in June, urged
that the Port Authority take responsibility for the whole
complex in order consolidate accountability.
Under the new deal, brokered by city
and state authorities, the Port Authority will pay as much
as $150 million of the Memorial’s related infrastructure,
and an additional $45 for any cost overruns. The LMDC has
said it will contribute $250 million through federal Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) grants. The Foundation has raised
$131 million so far.
At the announcement, Governor George
Pataki praised the “efficiencies” that would result
from the transition, and pledged that it would expedite the
building process. He pointed out that the Port—which,
in addition to developing the Freedom Tower, is building the
WTC Visitors Center, designed by Snøhetta; the Santiago
Caltrava–designed World Trade Center transit hub, and
Tower 5—built the temporary PATH station at the WTC site
in “just 16 short months.” Construction is scheduled
to begin September 11.
Citing the agency’s past reputation
for bureaucracy, cost overruns, and value engineering, a few
critics wondered whether the Port is up to shouldering another
complicated project with high design values. The public response
to the move has been largely positive, though. Jeremy Soffin,
vice president for public affairs at the New York planning
advocacy group Regional Plan Association, was pleased with
the changeover: “It makes things a lot easier to have
one agency in charge, and it gives them the ability to do
what they do best, which is build.” Addressing others’
concerns, he added, “Forget about the past; I think the
current leadership of the Port Authority has shown itself
to be quite competent.”
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