World Trade Center's last office tower breaks ground 25 years after 9/11 attacks
LOWER MANHATTAN (WABC) -- A quarter century after the terror attacks of September 11 left a gaping void in Lower Manhattan, American Express broke ground Thursday on its new headquarters, a tiered glass and steel tower at 2 World Trade Center.
The 55-story building with more than an acre of outdoor terraces and gardens is the last commercial development in the footprint of the fallen twin towers of the World Trade Center.
"This has been a long journey," said Lisa Silverstein of Silverstein Properties, the developer of the site since 2001. "This is the capstone for the World Trade Center."
The skyscraper is scheduled to be complete in 2031 and rise 1,226 feet.
It will be 550 feet shorter than 1 World Trade Center -- directly to the west. It will have two million square feet of office space and will be occupied entirely by the American Express Company, as its new world headquarters.
Company executives joined with political leaders for the ceremonial groundbreaking.
"When many questioned what the future will hold, American Express chose to stay," said Denise Pickett with American Express Enterprise Shared Services. "And as we approach the 25th anniversary of those tragic events, we reaffirm that choice and our confidence in the future of this remarkable neighborhood by building here once again-right where you're all sitting right now."
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the project will create 3,200 jobs and inject $6 billion into the city's economy.
"We are standing today on hallowed ground," Mamdani said. "For many months, rubble filled the site that had long been defined by greatness. On this ground, great deals had been agreed, inventions had been made, economic progress had been won. For a moment, it seemed in the aftermath of that horrific attack that perhaps greatness would only be a memory. But over the months and years that followed, greatness returned."
Officials say the completion of the building will be the final milestone in the commercial buildout of the World Trade Center campus.
"Today is a major milestone towards cementing the status of the World Trade Center campus as a premier location in our city for businesses from around the world to grow and thrive," Gov. Kathy Hochul said. "From the union labor who will build this remarkable tower, to the thousands of American Express employees who will work here for generations to come, 2 World Trade Center will be a shining symbol of the resilience, excellence and opportunity that defines Lower Manhattan."
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
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