Manhattan, NY – The Port Authority, the agency that owns the building at Ground Zero, said Thursday that the signature skyscraper replacing the Twin Towers destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, will be more commonly known as One World Trade Center.
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The reason for the name swapping? One World Trade Center is more marketable, said Steve Sigmund, a spokesman for the Port Authority.
“We believe there’s been a good response in the marketplace toward it,” Sigmund said Thursday.
The 102-story building, under construction at the 16-acre site, was named the Freedom Tower in the first Ground Zero master plan. At the time, officials said the tallest, most symbolic of five planned towers at the site would demonstrate the nation’s triumph over terrorism.
In the end, the tower’s address, One World Trade Center, is the one that is easier for people to identify with, said Anthony Coscia, Port Authority chairman.
On Wednesday, the agency announced that the first commercial tenant, a Chinese real estate company, has signed a lease for space in the building. The Beijing Vantone Industrial Company has agreed to lease five floors – 64 through 69 – for nearly 21 years.
The office tower is scheduled to be completed in late 2013.
Friday, the Tribute WTC Visitor Center is planning to reach a milestone by welcoming its 1-millionth visitor.
The person who helps the center reach that mark will be presented with a plaque honoring all those who have come there to learn about the 2001 terror attacks against the World Trade Center, said Ben Urizar, a center spokesman.
The tribute center at 120 Liberty St., which opened in 2006, is expected to hit the milestone before 10 a.m., when a news conference is planned.
don’t forget the name ‘THE TWIN TOWERS’
Ridiculous. All this talk about names… It has been nearly 8 years and we still have NOTHING. Why don’t these people focus and putting up a building there and then worry about the name after. Eight years and still a hole.
How appropriate. It’s about time we had a tangible metaphor for the new shift in America’s fundamental raison d’etre. It used to be Freedom; now it’s World Trade.
Another example of Obama’s plan to erase all references to 9/11 and America’s fight against the Muslim extremists. He wants us to forget that there a over a billion Muslims who would like to see America and Jews destroyed.
What changed?
In 01 it was still in style to be patriotic and want freedom for our country, freedom from terror. Back then it was still “in” to support the war on terror, killing of terrorists and so on.
Since then many things have changed, it became out of style to be aggressive toward terrorists, to fight wars and win them, to racially profile, and bashing the war, Bush and our troops became the new Hollywood pop culture style. Caring for terrorist killers locked up in gitmo became the symbol or liberal kindheartedness.
This is the reason for the name change, “freedom tower” would put off to many a liberal, it’s to aggressive to have freedom…
The Chinese didn’t want rent the five floors it it’s called Freedom Towers (We know how much they love Freedom) – So we caved and renamed it not to offend anyone.
Isn’t because of their hate to our freedom the Bin Ladin shot those building down.
I would name the building ‘Huge Freedom Tower’
I am very happy with the name change. Being that I have been working in the area for the past 20 years, I would be happy to see both towers rebuilt. I know that I’ll get some flack for this. Nonetheless, as I walk across the north bridge every day, I am pleasantly surprised to see that they are finally putting up something. Between the State of New York and the Port Authority, I’ve learned not to expect anything. When they do something, then they’ve gone beyond my expectations.
Nothing has any value anymore. Not even the 3,000 people who died. The further away we get from 9/11 the less I recognize the U.S. Very sad indeed.
I would rather name it like this:
One Big Hole Center Plaza
Wake up. 9/11 is just the new 12/7. What’s that? You don’t even know what 12/7 is? 2,500 people were killed on American soil by foreign invaders.
Your kids will barely remember 9/11 just like you barely remember Perl Harbor (Assuming you even read about it, because we know you didn’t learn it in Yeshiva).
whatever the name….i wont be there…i am not waiting for the next attack with osama obama at the helm protecting me.
Now that the wusses in the city have forgotten about 9/11, Freedom Tower, etc, can we have the old name of Newark International Airport back? Not that “liberty” will be around for long anyway.
I’m assuming they are going to change the name of the “Statue of Liberty”
It s a commercial decision…use whatever name will make it easiest to lease the space…we have wasted 10 years trying to micromanage this project by accomodating the families but at some point we have to move on and get this done. Its a real tragedy that 10 years after 9/11 we are still debating the political optics of what building to put where, what names to use etc.
This is a joke right? As time goes on and we the living perish, I want those generations after us to remember those we lost in the tower and how the new one came to be there. Freedom Tower reminds us of many things, One World Trade Center does not honor the dead nor the troops that fight for us. I’m so disappointed, friends in NY must be simply heartbroken! This isn’t right. How dare you do this in the name of marketability! Money, money, money!!
Just call it “Islam stands for world peace tower” or “America lost its guts skyscraper”
Actually, I never liked the name to begin with — because “Freedom Tower” and the fact that it would be 1,776 feet high, were really pseudo-patriotic camouflage designed to hide the fact that the Port Authority was NOT rebuilding the Twin Towers in their original form (strengthened with modern architectural technology to withstand any new attack). In other words, we were surrendering to Bin Laden’s monstrous, murderous vandalism against our “infidel” skyline. Instead of rebuilding the two heroic Towers (an option strongly backed in public opinion polls), our cowardly politicians and greedy, self-promoting architects staged a phony “referendum” process that did NOT give the public any opportunity to vote to restore the Towers. So we got stuck with the wacko Daniel Liebeskind’s bizarre collection of weirdly shaped buildings that look like the set of a bad science-fiction movie. Bin Laden must get a good laugh every time he looks at photos showing how the Towers have not been — and WILL NOT BE — rebuilt.
Article states “five floors 64 – 69” 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69
looks like 6 floors to me.
Also, one of the comments stated “10 years after 9/11……”
News Flash!! This coming 9/11/09 will be 8 years which means we are now 7.5 years later not 10. Granted there were many delays but, work is now in progress in ernest and I’m positive that when we do reach the 10 yr. mark in 2011 there will be a very noticeable difference to how the area looks. I think that both names “Freedom Tower and “One WTC” can and should be used.
Wait a minute. We can not call the new tower the “FREEDOM TOWER”, but the Chinese company that is moving in is getting the floors they are occupying called the “CHINA CENTER”! What in the “h” is going on with this country? We are getting so “PC” that we are loosing sight of these “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”.