American Express Tower Breaks Ground at World Trade Center
Construction of the 2 million-square-foot building comes after a 14-year delay.
Silverstein Properties broke ground yesterday on 2 World Trade Center, the final commercial office building of the 16-acre World Trade Center campus, nearly 25 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Lower Manhattan.
The 55-story, 2 million-square-foot skyscraper will be the global headquarters of American Express when it is completed in 2031.
American Express will be the owner and sole tenant of the 200 Greenwich St. tower. It is being developed by Silverstein Properties on land owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey under a long-term ground lease. Foster + Partners is the design architect for the project.
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The building, which will stand nearly 1,250 feet tall, will be known as the American Express Tower. It will have capacity for up to 10,000 employees. The project is estimated to cost about $4 billion, but American Express has not said how it plans to finance construction.
American Express currently has its headquarters at 200 Vesey St., where it has been located since 1986. The company will maintain that space while the new tower is completed. American Express has had a presence in Lower Manhattan since it was founded in 1850.
Pursuing LEED certification, the building will feature all-electric, energy-efficient systems, including advanced smart-building technology. It will have more than an acre of outdoor space with several greenery-filled terraces and gardens.
The tower will be located just north of the Oculus transportation hub and will be close to the World Trade Center PATH station and various subway stations. The 9/11 Memorial pools are less than a half mile away. It will be the second tallest of the new buildings developed at the World Trade Center. Only One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere at 1,776 feet, stands higher.
Fulfilling a promise to rebuild
The road to developing 2 World Trade Center has been rocky, with construction beginning in 2007 and stalling in 2012. The project has been on hold for the last 14 years.
Meanwhile, Silverstein developed other office towers at the campus, including 7 World Trade Center, 4 World Trade Center and 3 World Trade Center, which opened in 2006, 2013 and 2018 respectively. One World Trade Center was developed by the Durst Organization and opened in 2014.
For Lisa Silverstein, CEO of Silverstein Properties, Thursday’s groundbreaking represented an important milestone for the firm, as well as New York City and American Express.
“It also symbolizes triumph,” Silverstein said at the ceremony, “and what can be accomplished in this country following what happened here nearly 25 years ago.”
Other speakers, including Kevin O’Toole, chairman of the Port Authority, echoed Silverstein’s words by noting the groundbreaking for the final commercial tower at the WTC campus fulfilled a promise to rebuild, restore and remember in the aftermath of 9/11.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani focused on what the new development means for the future and highlighted the opportunities it brings to the city, including investments in jobs, the economy and sustainability.
The project is expected to create more than 2,000 union construction jobs and 3,200 total jobs in the city. It is estimated to contribute approximately $5.9 billion to the New York City’s economy and $6.3 billion to the state economy overall.
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