A decade after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the first of five planned towers is slowly filling the gaping hole left in the New York City skyline.
The first tower, officially named One World Trade Center (WTC) but also known as the Freedom Tower, will eventually reach 1,776 ft tall and include 2.6 million sq ft of office space, an observation deck, a world-class restaurant, and broadcast and antenna facilities. Its below-grade concourses comprise approximately 55,000 sq ft of retail space and connect to a far-reaching transportation and retail network. According to the WTC website (www.wtc.com), façade installation has reached above the 54th floor, tower steel is now at the 81st floor, and concrete is above the 71th floor. Project completion is slated for 2014.
On behalf of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — the building’s owner — STV, Inc. and Tishman Construction selected Ozone Park, N.Y.-based Five Star Electric as the MEP contractor on several towers at the World Trade Center site, including One WTC. For the first tower, Five Star Electric’s scope of work involves five 15kV substations and spot networks, more than 1 million ft of conduit, 5.5 million ft of cable, 25,000 lighting fixtures, 600 panels, and 1,200 motors.
In addition, Five Star is currently performing the electrical underground and grounding work for Towers 3 and 4. The contractor is also performing the Phase I electrical work on the site’s new Transportation Hub for Phoenix Constructors, also on behalf of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
