Silverstein sees 100,000 new jobs.

Larry Silverstein told members of the Subcontractors Trade Association last week that their expertise and determination was needed to keep the rebuilding of Ground Zero rolling.

Within the next ten years, the World Trade Center rebuilding project will create 100,000 construction jobs, Silverstein told the members at their monthly dinner meeting held at the Crown Plaza Hotel near La Guardia Airport.

"You play a hugely important role in rebuilding lower Manhattan, particularly in respect to World Trade Center 7," said Silverstein: "I am deeply appreciative and I want you to stay with us and help us get this Trade Center built."

The STA presented Silverstein with a piece of rebar from Ground Zero encased in a clear acrylic block and engraved with the words "Never Forget 9-11-01" for his diligence in the rebuilding process.

With the topping off of 7 WTC just completed two weeks ago, the floors of the 52-story tower are now being completed at a rate of one a week, with the entire building's completion expected in 2005-06, he said.

Silverstein Properties has incorporated a host of life-safety and environmental enhancements into the 1.7 million square foot 7 World Trade Center. When completed, it is expected to become a prototype for all new high-rise construction, including the Freedom Tower and four other buildings that Silverstein will build on the World Trade Center site.

"What we learned from 9/11 was how not to build office buildings," said Silverstein. "The result is 7 World Trade Center is being built totally beyond what the building code requires." For example, the elevators, utilities infrastructure and exit stairs will be encased in the vertical core, made of two-foot-thick concrete walls that rise through the center of the building.

It will have twice the required water-storage capacity for the sprinkler system, and pressurized ventilation to filter out air contaminants.

On top of these enhancements, the tower is being built with redundancy in the steel frame, super-fireproofing material, wider and better-lit stairs, more ground-level exits, emergency generators and a redundant emergency command center.

At a cost of $700 million to construct, 7 WTC will also make use of the latest in design and materials, starting with the iron-free, "ultra-clear" glass that is already showing up on parts of the tower's facade.

In the rebuilding of 7 WTC, Silverstein along with several other firms, including Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP consulting design partner, David Childs, designed a sleeker building, which allows for the reintroduction of Greenwich Street through the World Trade Center site and for the creation of a new neighborhood park. Tishman Construction Corporation, which built the original 7 World Trade Center for Silverstein, is Contractor for the project as well as for the Freedom Tower.

The office tower also was designed to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, and Silverstein Properties has already been recognized with an award from the Environmental Protection Agency for "demonstrating clean construction and improved air quality" and providing a "model for other businesses."