The New York Times gave some positive front-page press to 7 World Trade Center (finally!) this morning with a feature on how artist Jenny Holzer and developer Larry Silverstein were able to strike a compromise on Holzer’s zipper (the one that will wrap word-art around the interior core of the building).
Wait—could it be that there are delays at Ground Zero? The story also mentions that the opening date for the tower is mid-May. As recently as January, we were told it would be open by April. Last summer, Silverstein placed ads in magazines announcing, “In March 2006 a new building will define a new neighborhood.”
These delays are not, Silverstein spokesman Bud Perrone told us, caused by any fear the developer has of opening without tenants, but rather by “construction schedules.” Opening ceremonies, he said, will be held in mid-May. The developer is going to move his offices into 7 World Trade earlier that month, followed by Foster and Partners, the architects for 2 World Trade Center (rechristened 200 Greenwich Street). The first independent tenant, Ameriprise, could move in by the middle of May, Perrone said.
–Matthew Schuerman
