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<\/p>\nNearly a quarter century after the 9\/11 terrorist attacks leveled the World Trade Center towers, work on the new campus\u2019 final new office tower is underway.<\/p>\n
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\n Bisnow\/Ciara Long\n <\/p>\n
\n Executives from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Silverstein Properties and the Building and Trades Council celebrated the 2 World Trade Center groundbreaking Thursday morning with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani.\n <\/p>\n
Executives from\u00a0Silverstein Properties<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0American Express, along with transportation and union leaders, joined Mayor Zohran Mamdani in Lower Manhattan on Thursday morning to break ground on 2 World Trade Center, the future headquarters of the credit card giant.<\/p>\n \u201cToday is really about more than breaking ground,\u201d said Denise Pickett, American Express<\/a>\u2019 president of enterprise shared services. \u201cIt’s about building on a legacy, honoring a remarkable past and taking a bold step to the future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The white canvas tent that hosted the event was buzzing with excited developers, contractors and officials,\u00a0who celebrated as the first shovels went into the ground for a nearly 2M SF supertall. The groundbreaking defies the tragic legacy that has overshadowed the neighborhood, ushering in a new era for New York City\u2019s business world, executives and officials said.<\/p>\n American Express will buy and occupy the 55-story\u00a0tower\u00a0from Silverstein upon its expected 2031 completion, the developer and financial services firm\u00a0said in February<\/a>\u00a0when they announced the partnership that\u00a0galvanized the long-awaited project.<\/p>\n The tower will\u00a0reach more than 100 feet higher than the neighboring 3 World Trade Center, delivered by Silverstein in 2018, to\u00a0a full height of 1,226 feet.<\/p>\n The groundbreaking is a milestone for Silverstein, whose 95-year-old\u00a0founder,\u00a0Larry Silverstein, took over the complex just months before the terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re here to mark the rising of what will be the hallmark for the business sector of Lower Manhattan, one that will forever change how downtown is viewed,\u201d Silverstein CEO Lisa Silverstein<\/a>, Larry Silverstein’s daughter, said at the event.<\/p>\n \n Bisnow\/Ciara Long\n <\/p>\n \n A model of the fully completed World Trade Center campus, with 2 WTC in the center\n <\/p>\n Bureaucratic, economic and structural difficulties initially delayed the construction of the 1,776-foot-tall Freedom Tower, now known as\u00a01 World Trade Center<\/a>, by more than a decade. Silverstein followed those with 3 and 4 World Trade Center, which opened in 2018 and 2013, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n The developer has been trying\u00a0for more than a decade\u00a0to secure an anchor tenant for\u00a02 WTC,\u00a0nearly luring Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp<\/a> before the media mogul decided to\u00a0keep his companies in Midtown.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani said AmEx’s decision and Tuesday’s groundbreaking\u00a0were a testament not just to the city\u2019s resilience but to its\u00a0thriving economy and Manhattan\u2019s status as a global business capital.<\/p>\n \u201cFor many months, rubble filled a site that had long been defined by greatness,\u201d Mamdani<\/a> said from the podium. \u201cBut over the months and years that followed, greatness returned.\u201d<\/p>\n The development will add $6B to NYC\u2019s economy, creating 3,200 direct and indirect construction jobs and shoring up property tax dollars that will fund essential services, Mamdani said. Upon delivery, it will serve as a window into what the future will look like for the NYC office market, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the land under the site.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo World Trade Center is not just a tower,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is a proof point about Lower Manhattan and New York City \u2014 that it is thriving and growing.\u201d<\/p>\n But while both the new tower and its symbolism are important, NYC has to do more to hold onto its claim to the business world\u2019s throne, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin<\/a> told reporters as crowds spilled out onto the sunny sidewalk and Natasha Bedingfield\u2019s Unwritten\u00a0played in the background.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n