NYC breaks ground on 2 World Trade Center; 55-story skyscraper is final piece of complex

New York City officials broke ground on Thursday for 2 World Trade Center, a 55-story skyscraper being built as a new headquarters for American Express and the final commercial building planned in the new World Trade Center complex.

The Port Authority announced the start of construction of the 1,226-foot-tall building set to be completed in 2031. The new building, located next to the Oculus shopping center on Greenwich Street, will sit about 500 feet shorter than One World Trade Center.

Silverstein Properties will be the developer, with Foster + Partners serving as design architect for the project. The skyscraper is expected to cost about $4 billion.

Officials called for the rebuilding effort immediately after the fall of the Twin Towers 25 years ago, when 2,753 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia recalled the acrid burning smell of the pile at Ground Zero lingered for months in lower Manhattan.

"Amid the recovery efforts, the Port Authority knew that to honor those we lost, we had to look toward the future and rebuild," Garcia said. "But in setting out on that task, there were many critics that said that the World Trade Center campus and the broader lower Manhattan community would simply never come back."

Economic impact

Garcia said the city had built back stronger and rebounded after offices were left vacant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction of the 2-million-square-foot 2 World Trade Center is expected to contribute $6 billion in economic impact, including about 3,200 jobs.

"We wanted to see the final piece, the capstone, actually get built, to see the future of World Trade Center, and it is our job to take the long view," Garcia said. "Really, 2 World Trade Center is not just a tower; it is a proof point about lower Manhattan and New York City, that it is thriving and growing, and it is a manifestation of what happens when the Port Authority bets on this city, even in the face of doubt."

American Express will keep its headquarters on Vesey Street, where it has been located since 1986, until 2 World Trade Center is completed. The new building also will have about an acre of outdoor green space.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said 2 World Trade Center would mark a new chapter for the city while remembering the victims of Sept. 11.

"We are standing today on hallowed ground. Twenty-five years ago this September, a horrific terror attack was launched against our city, against the building that rose here that carried the same name," Mamdani said. "For a moment, it seemed, in the aftermath of that horrific attack, that perhaps greatness would only be a memory here. But over the months and years that followed, greatness returned."

When American Express moves in, Mamdani said, the company will contribute roughly $11.4 billion toward the economy, including nearly $250 million in tax revenue.