page_title: One World Trade Center
section_title: Construction and later development
hierarchical_section_title: One World Trade Center / Current building (2013–present) / Construction and later development
caption_attribution_description: English: This is a photo taken on a walkway with a view of the Freedom Tower Construction Site as of August 7th, 2007.
context_page_description: One World Trade Center is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. One WTC is the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest in the world. The supertall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. The building is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east.
  The building's architect is David Childs, whose firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill also designed the Burj Khalifa and the Willis Tower. The construction of below-ground utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the new building began on April 27, 2006. One World Trade Center became the tallest structure in New York City on April 30, 2012, when it surpassed the height of the Empire State Building. The tower's steel structure was topped out on August 30, 2012.
context_section_description: The symbolic cornerstone of One World Trade Center was laid in a ceremony on July 4, 2004. The stone had an inscription supposedly written by Arthur J. Finkelstein. However, construction was delayed until 2006 due to disputes over money, security, and design. The last major issues were resolved on April 26, 2006, when a deal was made between developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, so the cornerstone was temporarily removed from the site on June 23, 2006. Soon after, explosives were detonated at the construction site for two months to clear bedrock for the building's foundation, onto which 400 cubic yards (310 cubic meters) of concrete was poured by November 2007.
  In a December 18, 2006, ceremony held in nearby Battery Park City, members of the public were invited to sign the first 30-foot (9.1 m) steel beam installed onto the building's base. It was welded onto the building's base on December 19, 2006. Foundation and steel installation began shortly afterward, so the tower's footings and foundation were nearly complete within a year.
  In January 2008, two cranes were moved onto the site. Construction of the tower's concrete core, which began after the cranes arrived, reached street level by May 17. However, construction of the base was not finished until two years later, after which construction of the office floors began, and the first glass windows were subsequently installed; during 2010, floors were constructed at a rate of about one per week. An advanced "cocoon" scaffolding system was installed to protect workers from falling, and was the first such safety system installed on a steel structure in the city. The tower reached 52 floors and was over 600 feet (180 m) tall by December 2010. The tower's steel frame was halfway complete by then, but grew to 82 floors by the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, at which time its concrete flooring had reached 72 floors and the glass cladding had reached 56 floors.
  In 2009, the Port Authority changed the official name of the building from "Freedom Tower" to "One World Trade Center", stating that this name was the "easiest for people to identify with." The change came after board members of the Port Authority voted to sign a 21-year lease deal with Vantone Industrial Co., a Chinese real estate company, which would become the building's first commercial tenant to sign a lease. Vantone plans to create the China Center, a trade and cultural facility, covering 191,000 square feet on floors 64 through 69.
  Detailed floor plans of the tower were posted on New York City's Department of Finance website in May 2011. This resulted in an uproar from the media and citizens of the surrounding area, who warned that the plans could potentially be used for a future terrorist attack.
  While under construction, the tower was specially illuminated on several occasions. On the weekend of July 4, 2011, it was lit up with the colors of the U.S. flag to commemorate Independence Day, and it was lit up with the same colors on September 11 to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. On October 27 of that same year, it was illuminated with pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On December 11, the Port Authority illuminated the tower with multicolored lights to celebrate the holiday season. On February 24, 2012, the building was lit up with red in honor of Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan, who became a cardinal on February 18. On June 14, 2012, it was illuminated with red, white, and blue to honor Flag Day. In August, it was illuminated with red in honor of the Armed Forces. On September 8, 2012, it was once again illuminated with red, white, and blue to honor the 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. On June 24, 2013, the building was again illuminated with red, white, and blue to celebrate the Fourth of July.
  The tower's loading dock, however, was not due to be finished in time to move equipment into the completed building, so five temporary loading bays were added at a cost of millions of dollars. The temporar
caption: One World Trade Center tower construction as of August 7, 2007
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