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A report will come out today from the Port Authority outlining seventeen to twenty “logistical, contracting and budgetary matters” that are holding up the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. The Wall Street Journal reports that this release will also show that the construction is nearly $3 billion over budget and won’t be finished until the middle of the next decade. The analysis by the Port Authority was ordered by Governor Paterson when he began hearing of the delays and price hikes. It will be followed by another report with a “firmer” schedule and budget in September. Hurdles that are already known include the execution of the complicated transit hub designed by architect Santiago Calatrava and the finalization of the memorial design. The two projects have to intertwine with one another but are being handled by different teams. Delays on the transit hub also hold up the construction of the retail space, to be managed by Westfield Group, also planned for underground.
Developer (and original leaseholder) Larry Silverstein’s three office towers may also be delayed until after their 2013 deadline — which brings us to the silver lining. By then, the economy might have stopped crashing, and people will want office space again!
