Next on our Turkey Week rundown of stalled New York projects is 2 World Trade Center, a 1,230-foot commercial supertall skyscraper that remains on hold in Manhattan’s Financial District. Designed by Norman Foster of Foster + Partners and developed by Silverstein Properties, the 62-story structure is the final component of the 16-acre World Trade Center complex and is slated to yield 2.2 million square feet of office space. The full-block property is bounded by Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, Church Street to the east, and Greenwich Street to the west.
Construction on the substructure began in 2007 but stalled in 2012, and no progress has occurred in the ensuing years. The unfinished base remains covered in corrugated metal sheds adorned with colorful murals. The eastern edge of the property is used as a seasonal outdoor beer garden.
Two World Trade Center. Photo by Michael Young
The structure’s history dates to 2005, when Foster + Partners unveiled a striking design consisting of four columns culminating in a crown of diamonds sloping toward the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, symbolizing a connection between the ground and the sky.
2 World Trade Center, originally designed by Norman Foster of Foster + Partners. Black and white drawing by Michael Young
Later, negotiations between Silverstein and Fox Corporation resulted in a complete overhaul of the project to better suit the needs of the media company. Bjarke Ingels of Bjarke Ingels Group was tasked with the redesign and revealed his vision in the summer of 2015.
BIG’s stacked block design, pictured below, featured a cascading array of stepped setbacks topped with landscaped terraces, a nod to the many green roofs in the nearby neighborhood of Tribeca. At the same time, the massing would have presented a singular, monolithic appearance when viewed from the east, creating a dual silhouette beside One World Trade Center reminiscent of the original Twin Towers.
This plan was eventually abandoned with Fox’s decision to remain at its Midtown headquarters.
Aerial rendering of the World Trade Center with the 2015 design for 2 World Trade Center by Bjarke Ingels Group. Rendering by DBOX.
After the deal fell through with Fox, Foster + Parters stepped back into the picture with a new proposal, no longer using the diamond-shaped crown that many had favored. Foster’s 2021 design proposal, pictured below from a previous YIMBY article, was catered to prospective anchor tenant Deutsche Bank. Like the others before it, this plan also failed to come to fruition.
Architecture model of 2 WTC
Architecture model of 2 WTC
In 2022, Foster + Partners revealed its latest iteration when American Express emerged as a potential anchor tenant. This design partially borrows from the stacked volume design of BIG’s 2015 concept while retaining the staggered crown from the Deutsche Bank proposal.
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
Photo by Michael Young
This latest design was further refined with a series of updated visuals revealed earlier this year, highlighting the addition of a prominent spire. The configuration of the cutouts for the pocketed outdoor terraces was also slightly modified, but the overall massing and use of floor-to-ceiling glass and thin façade louvers were retained.
2 World Trade Center. Designed by Foster + Partners.
2 World Trade Center. Designed by Foster + Partners.
2 World Trade Center. Designed by Foster + Partners.
Negotiations are reportedly still ongoing between Larry Silverstein and American Express, though no further updates have been announced for some time. With the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001 coming next year, it remains unclear what the future holds for the final piece of the complex’s rebuild.
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The space with the model does not seem to have very much fire insulation on its steel beams.
Huh?
Still not done since 9/11.
How many more decades to wait until a complete 9/11 rebuilt?
The market for top of the line commercial real estate is so hot, I can’t believe they aren’t able to get this off the ground. All of Hudson Yards, Manhattan West, One Vanderbilt, the existing WTC buildings, they’re all basically 95%+ filled. Keep hearing reports that big companies are hunting for trophy space. I don’t get why Silverstein just doesn’t build it.
At some point, we need to tell them to stop and simply expand the public memorial park. This is embarrassing. 25 years?
I don’t think it can be done. The metal sheds are hiding all the HVAC and other internal systems for the building as the systems for at least 2, 3, 4 WTC are all combined- not sure in One WTC is also part of that. That’s one of the reasons it was built to ground level or just a bit above it.
I’m probably in the minority, but I prefer the design for Deutsche Bank the best. The BIG proposal was a bit odd, but it actually looked good alongside 3-WTC and 4-WTC.
As for the latest proposal for AMEX, I like everything but the spire. There should only be one spire in this development, atop One World Trade, IMHO.
Why not just build similar building like the current One World Trade? Make life so much easier than have all these different designs.
I don’t see it as an embarrassment. More like very sensible building. The area is thriving and occupany is high. I think they should just make it a residential building if allowed by zoning. If they can land a great office anchor, that would be great also.
5-WTC has been rezoning from commercial to residential and even that appears to be stalled, so I don’t see that happening with 2-WTC.
Just who is going to work in these buildings?
Is #1 WTC filled at this point? I don’t think so.
Even Jamie Dimon is having a hard time filling up 270 Park Ave., despite various encouragements to Return to the Office. On top of that, JPM admits there are more of their employees working in Dallas than in NYC.
I think it’s less the design of these buildings which caused the delay, than the “design” of present-day NYC.
There are 24K employees in New York vs 18K in Plano TX. And that doesn’t count all the new employees being hired as moving to the new New York Headquarters.
1WTC is over 90 percent occupied. So I’d Husdaon Yards, which is now finishing starting its Western portion consisting of several office towers. The Park Avenue corridor has several projects underway, and most of what you said about JP Morgan is misinformed.
But thanks for doomscrolling
Doomscrolling… Is that a new term? I love it!
“Is #1 WTC filled at this point? I don’t think so.”
What a stupid question, Jim. All four office towers at the World Trade Center are close to being fully filled with 1 and 4 WTC being almost 100% occupied.
270 Park Avenue is ONLY for JPMorgan Chase employees, who are mandated to come back to the office, and will fully occupy the building in the coming months. So they are NOT having a “hard time.”
Stop spreading your disingenuous, biased, and bullshit questions.
thank you Brian
dont feed the trolls
The original design was so much better.
Let’s take a moment, and send thoughts to Hong Kong, where today, many have died and are still trapped in high-rise fires, possibly spread thru bamboo scaffolding.
That is a shocking tragedy. It seems some materials were used on the HK buildings which recall the Grenfell fire.
build it and complete it before all of us alive on 9/11 are dead.
thank you
I don’t care what it looks like — but I bet it’ll be beautiful — just get it done already!
The latest rendition is the best. Let’s get it done already
Sad
“There are 24K employees in New York vs 18K in Plano TX. And that doesn’t count all the new employees being hired as moving to the new New York Headquarters.”
Not as of two months ago….
“JPMorgan Chase’s employee total in Texas was 31,500 in 2024, the highest in any state and surpassing New York, according to data compiled by the non-profit Partnership for NYC.
The data, provided to The Post Monday, also showed Texas surpassed the Empire State in finance sector employees overall in 2024.”
NYC has lost its luster, primarily because of high taxation and uncontrolled crime. The city’s biggest real estate “boom” is now “affordable housing.”
I’m no fan of NYC taxes and regulations, but crime (for now) is much lower in NYC than in Houston (fact, not opinion). And who cares how many employees JPMC has here or there, they own 270 Park Ave and will fill 270 Park Ave.
And you’re way off on occupancy in the WTC towers, as many here have corrected you.
Crime is much lower? Uh no, it certainly is not lol, where are you getting your data from? The FBI?
Crime yet for each city per 100,000 people: NYC-493.8, Dallas-533.8, Houston-1,148.2. Now you know!
Crime Rate… Typo
Can we just rebuild one of the old WTC towers atp? I don’t know why we didn’t do that in the first place. Freakin George Bush ruined the city and people are silly enough to think Afghanistan did this, yet they find passports on the ground in literal public information. How does that survive but a building doesn’t, let alone WTC 7? Screw the government bruh
“Freakin George Bush ruined the City”? Are you kidding?He assumed office on January 20th 2001 and 9/11 occurred less than eight months later. Despite taking years for those horrific events to be planned financed and carried out. As far as 2 WTC is concerned , please please re-consider the original design with the four diamonds roof. It was and still is the most beautiful, and it’s the design that everyone I know still wants. Build it now!!