World Trade Center Site 5

The World Trade Center Memorial and Cultural Program Land Use Improvement and Civic Project Plan (Project Plan) was originally adopted by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), a subsidiary of ESD, in 2004 to provide for memorial and cultural uses as well as commercial redevelopment of the World Trade Center after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The plan provides for 5 commercial towers, public open space and a performing arts center surrounding the memorial and memorial museum.

World Trade Center Site 5 is located at 130 Liberty Street, the southernmost site of the WTC Campus, and the location of the former Deutsche Bank building which was severely damaged on 9/11. LMDC used U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant funds to acquire, remediate and clear Site 5. The Project Plan allows for commercial and/or hotel use on Site 5. In 2006, the Port Authority and LMDC entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by which LMDC would “swap” 130 and 140 Liberty Street, including Site 5, with the Port Authority for property it owned at the center of the campus to enable the 9/11 Memorial and Museum as well as the Performing Arts Center to be built within and proximate to the footprints of the Twin Towers.

In 2019, LMDC and the Port Authority entered into another MOU to jointly issue an RFP for Site 5 that would allow for as-of-right commercial development or mixed-use development, including a requirement for an affordable housing component, which would require a modification to the Project Plan. On February 11, 2021 after a competitive RFP process, a mixed-use Project and Development Team was conditionally designated by the LMDC Directors. If the transaction is approved, ESD would own Site 5 and serve as landlord for the Site 5 long-term lease. Consistent with the planned swap, all rent payments would go to the Port Authority as compensation for the memorial, museum and Performing Arts Center sites.

The Project Plan has been modified to allow for mixed-use development, in addition to the already permitted commercial use at Site 5. The ESD Directors have approved the start of the public review process for the Proposed Project at Site 5. The public had the opportunity to provide oral and written comments on the Proposed Project during a September 15, 2022 virtual public hearing and a public comment period that was open through October 17, 2022. The Project Team is reviewing all comments and the final Proposed Project will be presented to the LMDC and ESD Board of Directors and Port Authority Board of Commissioners for an approvals vote.

Project Information

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