One World Trade Center Now 26 Stories Above Street Level

June 8, 2010
By Allison Landa, News Editor

Courtesy Flickr Creative Commons user Bernt Rostad

One World Trade Center has reached a construction milestone: It is now 260 feet – 26 stories — above street level and on its way to being 50 stories high by the end of this year.

Once complete in 2013, the building will be the tallest office tower in the country, standing 1,776 feet high and boasting 2.9 million rentable square feet of Class A office space. It is designed by architect David Childs of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill L.L.P.

“One World Trade Center will set the international standard for state-of-the-art office space,” Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive director Christopher Ward said when the news was announced. “It incorporates the highest environmental and safety standards and provides a world-class tenant environment with a sprawling transportation network, high-end retail and related services that prospective tenants demand.”

Also known as the “Freedom Tower”, the $3.1 billion skyscraper will eventually rise 82 stories high. It will include an observation deck 1,362 feet above ground and a glass square parapet at 1,368 square feet high – measurements equal to those of the original One World Trade Center. To date, more than 67,000 cubic yards have been poured for the tower, both above and below ground. The building will also include approximately 500,000 square feet of shops, restaurants, and services as well as 60 feet – four floors – of below-street-level space for water tanks, fuel storage, mechanical space, parking, retail and a lobby for observation deck elevators.

Tenants who have already committed to the property include China Center New York, L.L.C., which has leased 190,810 square feet; the New York State Office of General Services; and the United States General Services Administration. Leasing is being handled by Cushman & Wakefield.