State induces $1.67b in Liberty Bonds for WTC.Plans for construction of three World Trade Center towers on Greenwich Street came closer to fruition last week with an announcement that officials would induce $1.67 billion in Liberty Bonds for the construction of World Trade Centers II, III and IV. Empire State Development Chairman Charles A. Gargano's announcement of the inducement was a concrete piece of good news in a week that saw speculation over the future of plans for both the Freedom Tower and the World Trade Center Memorial. "This announcement marks another huge step forward in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York. Lower Manhattan is generally defined as the area delineated on the north by Chambers Street, on the west by the Hudson River (North ," Chairman Gargano said of the inducement. "Under Governor Pataki's leadership, we have been working hard to attract businesses, visitors and commerce to the downtown area, thereby aiding in the rebuilding process. We expect that this inducement will not only help leaseholder Larry A. Silverstein finalize the balance of his financing, but will facilitate the expenditure of funds at the World Trade Center site and accelerate real progress of construction." In July, the City is expected to induce an additional $920,950,000 in Liberty Bonds for Towers II, III, and IV. Liberty Bonds are low-cost, tax-exempt bond Tax-exempt bond A bond usually issued by municipal, county, or state governments whose interest payments are not subject to federal and, in some cases, state and local income tax. tax-exempt bond See municipal bond. financing for major projects in Lower Manhattan and New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . The $8-billion bond issuance program was set up in the wake of the September 11 attacks September 11 attacks Series of airline hijackings and suicide bombings against U.S. targets perpetrated by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda. . "Today's action on the State's remaining Liberty Bonds is another step forward in the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. We thank Governor Pataki and Chairman Gargano and look forward to the City's inducement in July," said Bud Perrone, a spokesman for Larry Silverstein Larry A. Silverstein (born 1932 in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, New York) is an American billionaire real estate investor and operator and the head of Silverstein Properties, a real estate development group. . "We are working aggressively to design the three Greenwich Street towers and, with financing in place, will begin construction of those towers as soon as the sites are made available." Meanwhile at Ground Zero, speculation continues to fly over the fate of the Freedom Tower, where infighting in·fight·ing n. 1. Contentious rivalry or disagreement among members of a group or organization: infighting on the President's staff. 2. Fighting or boxing at close range. continues between site developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority (see REW n. 1. A row. page one). Below the would-be 1,776-foot tower, at the proposed September 11 Memorial, construction czar Frank Sciame continues to try to cut costs for the Michael Arad-designed project down from an estimated $1 billion to $500 million. Last week, Sciame met behind closed doors with Governor George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who was the 57th Governor of New York serving from January 1995 until January 1, 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party and was seen as a possible 2000 and 2008 Presidential candidate. and Mayor Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born 14 February 1942) is an American businessman, and the founder of Bloomberg L.P., currently serving as the Mayor of New York City. He was a general partner at Salomon Brothers before founding the financial software service company in 1981. to discuss the plans. "Frank Sciame has done an enormous amount of work and made an informative presentation to the Governor and Mayor this afternoon," spokespeople for the governor and the mayor wrote in a joint statement Friday. "The Governor and Mayor's Offices are reviewing the analysis, and we expect a written report to be available next week." With funding coming into place, architects Richard Rogers and Fumihiko Maki continue design work on World Trade Centers III and IV respectively. The proposed construction start date for Towers III and IV is the second half of 2007. Architect Lord Norman Foster continues work on Tower II, set to start construction in late 2008. |
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