Beginning just in time to commemorate a tragic milestone later this year, American Express and a host of New Yorkers, including the mayor, laid the foundation stone at the historic 2 World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan on July 9. Scheduled to open as soon as 2031, the second-tallest structure in the renovated WTC complex has been mired in litigation and a desperate bid to attract customers for the better part of 20 years.
First conceived in 2006, the initial design by architect Norman Foster envisioned a grand, diamond-shaped crown crowning the building, sloping toward the National September 11 Memorial and Museum below. Standing 1,348 feet tall or approximately 80 stories, the stunning initial concept called for vast real estate dedicated to in-house day trading infrastructure in the pre-2008 financial crisis economy.
After trying and failing to secure tenants with such an antiquated arrangement for over a decade it proved futile, and the entire foundation has remained largely vacant since 2013. Namely, the longtime Lower Manhattan resident at American Express announced plans to use the site as its global headquarters. With the announcement came a completely neat design, stretching 1,226 feet into the sky, with a floor number of no less than 55.
The building’s architects, Foster and Partners, are led by the same man who designed the first renderings of 2 WTC nearly two decades ago. The change came back in 2020, when the property’s owners at Silverstein Properties parted ways with 2 WTC’s replacement architect, Bjarke Ingels Group. By the time all 50-plus floors are open to daily foot traffic, it is estimated that 2 World Trade Center will accommodate 10,000 employees, contractors and maintenance staff.
With 1.96 million square feet of interior space, 2 WTC will use at least 43 passenger and seven service elevators, which will serve as the arterial lifeline of the entire structure. With 52,090 square feet of outdoor space divided into terraces, corner gardens and sedum terraces full of greenery, 2 WTC will one day be a living, breathing superstructure. Construction is expected to continue through 2020, with topping out expected sometime in 2030.
