FINANCIAL DISTRICT — The 72-story 4 World Trade Center opened its doors Wednesday, becoming the first tower on the Lower Manhattan site to open since the 9/11 attacks.
Developer Larry Silverstein, along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and several elected officials, as well as the building’s architect, Fumihiko Maki, celebrated the opening with a ribbon-cutting.
“This is a historic day for New York City and a major milestone in Downtown’s remarkable rebirth as the world’s most vibrant and sustainable urban neighborhood,” said Silverstein.
“With the 12 years of controversy and construction behind us, the opening of 4 WTC shows how we are knitting the new World Trade center into this incredible part of the city."
Construction on the building began in 2009, after years of delays due to funding issues and problems finding tenants.
One World Trade Center is nearly complete and is set to open next year and building 7 opened several years ago across the street.
Tower 3 is supposed to open in 2016 and Tower 2 was capped off until there is enough interest to build it.
While Silverstein’s work on the development of the minimalist glass building at 4 WTC is complete, the floors of the office story are still empty.
The tower has secured two tenants so far, the Port Authority and the city, but they will take months to move in and build their office spaces.
About half of the building’s 2.3 million square feet is still up for lease.
To help commemorate the tower's completion, webcam company EarthCam has released a time-lapse that captures years of construction at the 4 World Trade Center site, from August 2009 to November 2013, in just about three minutes.
