As New York City marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, the redevelopment of the World Trade Center has reached its final stages. In this post, we take a look at the ongoing transformation of the 16-acre Financial District site, detailing new additions and forthcoming components in the mixed-use office complex.
The largest piece is 2 World Trade Center, a 55-story office supertall that officially resumed construction over the summer after sitting stalled at street level for nearly 15 years. Designed by Foster + Partners and developed by Silverstein Properties on land owned by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ), the 1,226-foot-tall skyscraper will yield 2 million square feet of office space. The building will occupy a full block bounded by Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, Church Street to the east, and Greenwich Street to the west.
2 World Trade Center. Rendering courtesy of Foster + Partners.
Crews have continued to build up the core since our last update in July, and a tower crane has been erected to aid in the forthcoming vertical progress.
2 World Trade Center in early September 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center in early September 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center in early September 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center in early September 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center. Photo by Michael Young.
The below aerial shot from late August shows crews setting up scaffolding around the base of the building as work continues on the inner core. The beer garden that formerly operated on the footprint between Vesey and Fulton Streets has been shuttered and cleared. This area will become the easternmost part of the multistory podium once construction progresses further along.
2 World Trade Center in late-August 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center in mid-August 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center in mid-August 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center in mid-August 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center in mid-August 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center in mid-August 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
2 World Trade Center in mid-August 2026. Photo by Michael Young.
American Express will serve as the anchor tenant, relocating its global headquarters to a space capable of supporting up to 10,000 employees across flexible floor arrangements. The building’s stepped terraces are expected to yield more than 1 acre of outdoor space, and the tower will be equipped with advanced technology and fully electric, energy-efficient systems. The project will also pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. American Express’s headquarters has been located at 200 Vesey Street since 1986.
Construction is projected to create more than 3,200 direct and indirect construction-related jobs in New York City. The project is also expected to contribute nearly $6 billion to the city’s economy and $6.3 billion to the economy of New York State. 2 World Trade Center’s anticipated completion date is slated for 2031.
2 World Trade Center. Rendering courtesy of Foster + Partners.
To the south at Liberty Park is the new Port Authority Employee Memorial, which was commissioned by the WTC Memorial Fund and installed next to the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. The nearly 13-foot-tall sculpture features 8-foot-tall stainless steel sculptures of the Twin Towers atop a cylindrical black marble base etched with the names of the 84 employees who died on 9/11.
Photo by Michael Young.
Photo by Michael Young.
Photo by Michael Young.
The red marble ring at its base features the names of the six people who died in the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The red stone is an homage to the original memorial design by Elyn Zimmerman that stood between the Twin Towers.
Photo by Michael Young.
Photo by Michael Young.
Photo by Michael Young.
The final tower in the complex, still on hold, is 5 World Trade Center, a mixed-use residential skyscraper. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and developed in a joint venture between Silverstein Properties and Brookfield Properties, the 930-foot-tall structure is slated to yield 1,200 market-rate and affordable housing units spread across 1.2 million square feet. The project is also planned to include 190,000 square feet of office space, a 12,000-square-foot community facility, and 7,000 square feet of retail. The property is located directly south of Liberty Park on the site of the former Deutsche Bank office tower that was demolished in the late 2000s.
Rendering courtesy of Kohn Pedersen Fox.
The site is alternately addressed as 130 Liberty Street and serves as a surface-level parking lot for NYPD vehicles. A public plaza with murals sits on the southern end of the property.
The future site of 5 World Trade Center. Photo by Michael Young.
The future site of 5 World Trade Center. Photo by Michael Young.
A construction timeline for 5 World Trade Center remains unclear as the developers continue to finalize plans amid rising costs while exploring strategies for including affordable housing. A portion of the homes at 5 World Trade Center would be reserved for 9/11 survivors and local recovery workers. In addition, one third of the total inventory was planned to be made affordable at between 40 and 120 percent of the area median income (AMI).
The project formerly gained approval in July 2023, at which time Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $65 million financing package to be supplied by New York State and the Battery Park City Authority through a joint purpose fund. Additionally, a $12.5 million rent credit was approved by the Port Authority board, but was conditional on the funding’s delivery by April 2024, and the developers upholding of the 33-percent affordability level. It’s unclear whether these conditions contributed to the delays in the construction timeline.
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It’s just a damn shame that 25 years after the attack we still haven’t finished rebuilding.
I think that’s a disgraceful example of greed and political cowardice.
I could not agree with you more. That the WTC is not rebuilt is like a hole in my heart. I can’t image how it feels to the families, and friends that loss or people that work
Sad the rebuild is not yet done 25 years later.
Those terrorists were very successful by any way you look at it,
and New York has never recovered.
And then New Yorkers chose to elect Mamdani…