PA Is Designing Master Plan for Ground Zero

NEW YORK CITY-It may be that some real work will finally get done on the site of the World Trade Center. Just one day after master leaseholder Larry Silverstein unwrapped details of his 7 World Trade rebuild, the Port Authority–which is the owner of the property–has broken its silence and revealed that it has been developing its own master plan for the acreage.

According to published reports, February will be the month of the master plan’s unveiling, but PA officials have stated that the plan will include set-aside acreage for a memorial, a mass transit component and a range of square footage for commercial development.

The redevelopment of the World Trade Center site has been the source of much controversy since the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. unveiled six master-plan designs earlier this year. When those plans were put before the public for its reaction in a series of town meetings, they met with almost unanimously negative reviews. The LMDC then launched into an international design competition that is still in the works. According to reports, the PA master plan would not negate the frontrunners in the competition but rather be used as a template for those designs.