New York Governor George E. Pataki announced May 5 that the official groundbreaking on the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower office building will take place July 4, months ahead of schedule, according to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC). The governor also announced that the Fulton Transit Center design unveiling will take place at an AIA New York Chapter meeting May 26. The new hub will link 12 subway lines serving Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens.

“On July 4, as we celebrate the birth of our democracy, we also celebrate the rebirth of our city. On July 4, as we commemorate the founding of our nation, we lay the foundation for our resurgence,” the governor said of the building by design team Daniel Libeskind, AIA, Studio Daniel Libeskind, and David M. Childs, FAIA, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Pataki also announced that a full schematic design for the World Trade Center Site Memorial by Michael Arad, AIA, and Peter Walker, with associate architect Davis Brody Bond LLP, will be complete by the end of 2004. The schedule calls for construction drawings by 2005, with construction to begin in 2006. Major League Baseball, the Baseball Players Association, and the Baseball Tomorrow Fund are jointly contributing the first $1 million to the World Trade Center Foundation.

Pataki provided an update on other projects.

• Construction will begin on a new and expanded Battery Park City Ferry Terminal, which will replace the temporary terminal and is expected to open for business in the spring of 2006. The terminal, funded by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will provide passengers with enhanced amenities.
• Construction on the southern portion of the West Street promenade will begin in September. The project will transform this highway into a tree-lined promenade. The first section, Washington Street to West Thames Street, will be complete by the end of 2005.
• The South Ferry terminal is on track to open in 2007.
• Demolition of the 130 Liberty Street, the Deutsche Bank Building, is expected to begin in the fall.

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