World Trade Center’s final office tower is set to begin construction this spring, with Gov. Kathy Hochul and American Express announcing that 2 World Trade Center will become the credit-card company’s new headquarters nearly a quarter-century after the Sept. 11 attacks destroyed the site. The 55-story building is designed to be the last major office addition to the long redevelopment of the original 16-acre World Trade Center property, at the northeastern corner where a low placeholder structure and nearby beer garden now sit.
Hochul said in a statement that the tower would bring another iconic skyscraper to Lower Manhattan, create thousands of good-paying union jobs, and provide billions of economic benefits to New Yorkers. American Express will own the new building and lease the underlying land, according to the project’s statements and Port Authority guidance, while the company did not respond to questions about the cost.
American Express CEO Stephen Squeri said the skyscraper was “an investment in our company’s future, our colleagues and the Lower Manhattan community,” and described the tower as part of the firm’s renewed presence at ground zero. The company’s current headquarters is just west of the World Trade Center campus.
The redevelopment, officials noted, unfolded over years marked by engineering, financial and political complications, as multiple proposals for what would be built on the remaining portions of the site encountered roadblocks. Over time, major projects including the 1 World Trade Center tower, other office buildings, the Sept. 11 memorial and museum, a transit hub with shopping, and a performing arts center were constructed on the property, which is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Redevelopment also required decisions tied to damaged structures from the attack-era site. A Greek Orthodox church that had been damaged was rebuilt in a spot overlooking the plaza, and other elements of the former 16-acre complex were replaced as the larger project progressed.
Plans for 2 World Trade Center had been shaped by shifting expectations for office leasing over time, including proposals that at various points envisioned tenants looking at the space. The project struggled for years to secure financing and an anchor tenant, and those challenges deepened after the coronavirus pandemic emptied many offices in 2020 and prompted new questions about future office space needs.
Developer Larry Silverstein, who had promoted the project over time, continued to insist that it would move forward, and his daughter, Lisa Silverstein, said American Express was “an iconic institution embodying the strength, resilience, and global significance of the project.” Silverstein Properties’ leadership said the company plans to occupy the entire Norman Foster-designed building, a structure of glassy sections with landscaped terraces and gardens, and said it is expected to accommodate up to 10,000 workers.
Port Authority spokesperson Tom Topousis said the project will not receive state, city or Port Authority financing or incentives and referred questions about the cost to American Express. The building’s completion is expected in 2031, as the company prepares to move into a development that officials described as a physically and symbolically significant step toward fulfilling a pledge of renewal at ground zero.