Bloomberg: WTC to have office space

Real Estate Weekly, Jan 16, 2002 by Parke Chapman

Distinguishing himself from a plan backed by his predecessor, Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently said that the 16-acre World Trade Center site should encompass commercial office space, with some room for a memorial.

Bloomberg and the head of the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Commission also said that the site should have retail space.

His statements contrast those of former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani who, during his farewell address, said that "we shouldn't think about this site....for economic development." The former mayor had increasingly allied himself with the families of victims who want to block any office development on the site in lieu of a 16-acre memorial.

As for what sort of mixed-use development ends up here, LMRC chairman John Whitehead was quoted in the New York Times last week saying "we'll be trying to determine that after consultation with everyone, including the families of the victims of course."

Some families of the victims reportedly want the site to contain strictly memorial space. This group has yet to receive much exposure, while the mixed-use solution has gotten the lion's share of news coverage.

The future of this site will be contested, no matter what happens with it. Already, people throughout the nation have formulated their opinion about what should be done. Many people have taken the "either/or" stance, refusing to acknowledge that office space is needed or even appropriate here. For this group, there can be no compromise. On the other end of the spectrum are those who want commercial space developed here, with some room left for a memorial.

One thing is certain--it will be some time before we know what will take shape here.

Few dispute the need to design an appropriate memorial here. Still, the site is located in the center of a busy commercial office district where service businesses rely on thick streams of office workers. While it would be insensitive not to create a memorial some would argue that not developing office space here would be short Sighted.

In the week following Sept. 11, much of the talk about rebuilding seemed light-years away, with a mountain, of debris awaiting removal. That mountain, is now a ditch how ever. The crews working downtown to remove debris from the site have made such progress that the future of the site if being pondered more than ever.