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Public to get close-up look at WTC plans
From Phil Hirschkorn
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A six-week exhibit of the new sky-high design proposals for the World Trade Center site opens to the public Friday in the same hall in which they were unveiled earlier in the week. Seven teams of architects commissioned by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. revealed nine plans Thursday in a three-hour presentation at the Winter Garden, a glass-enclosed atrium at the World Financial Center, adjacent to the trade center site. The models and animations will be on view at the Winter Garden through February 2, and visitors may leave written opinions. New Yorkers may also see video clips of the plans at public libraries, and the plans may be viewed and comments submitted on the LMDC's Web site, www.renewnyc.org. An LMDC spokeswoman said the site has received "millions of hits." An initial set of six proposals unveiled last summer failed to excite the public's enthusiasm, extending the process of creating a complex that includes both a memorial for those who died there and commercial space to replace what was lost when al Qaeda hijackers flew two airliners into the twin towers, killing 2,792 people. The new international design competition began 12 weeks ago. Four teams proposed the world's tallest building. Three teams proposed re-creating twin towers, while others proposed connecting several buildings. Most of the plans called for 8 million to 10 million square feet of commercial space -- less than the 11 million destroyed -- plus a museum and a transit station. "During the public review process, one of the things that came out loud and clear is that people wanted their skyline back, and so as part of the instructions we gave to these designers, we said: Put the skyline back," said Alexander Garvin, the LMDC's vice president for planning and design. "Each of them found a different way to put the skyline back. Clearly, one way to do it and to demonstrate to those criminals that they can't put down New York is to build the tallest thing in the world," he said. The twin towers, built 30 years ago, rose 1,360 feet and were the world's tallest structures until the completion of the Sears Tower in Chicago one year later. The Petronas towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia now hold the record, at 1,483 feet. The most ambitious trade center plan envisions a 2,100-foot tower. Plans for memorial to followDisagreement over a memorial could be crucial to the project's future. A group called the Coalition of 9-11 Families wants the area once occupied by the twin towers, the Marriott Hotel, WTC building six, and part of the plaza -- "the area where our loved ones died and the majority of the remains were found" -- to be set aside for the memorial. The memorial should be designed first, the coalition said, with the retail and office space built around it. The new plans for the office and retail space leave room for a memorial, but make only broad proposals for what it might contain. "At first glance, two of the designs contain some elements which reflect aspects of our position," the group said in a written statement. Still, Nikki Stern, the widow of insurance executive James Potorti and drafter of the families' mission statement for a memorial, said the plans are a step forward. "There's a huge improvement. It's almost like a different ball game," she said. Many Lower Manhattan residents lauded the proposals. "All nine plans from the seven teams were truly incredible, and I think, were very sensitive to the community," said Julie Menin, who leads Wall Street Rising, a business-boosting group. "They all address the issue of how do we make this a 24/7 community, how do we revitalize the retail down here, how do we get residential, and how do we get more cultural amenities on the site," she said. Liz Berger, another downtown activist, said, "I liked that these proposals didn't start with such a high requirement for commercial development." Once the final site plan is chosen, by February, the LMDC will begin a separate international design competition for the memorial.
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