The cost of the World Trade Center Memorial

[Hoda]

With all due respect....WTF has the cost of the memorial gone from $500 million to $800 million?!!!!!!!! :shock:  :shock:  :shock:

EIGHT HUNDRED MILLION?!!!!!! WTF was it FIVE HUNDRED MILLION FROM THE GET GO?!!!!! :shock:  :shock:  :shock:  :shock:

[doombug]

WTF was it FIVE HUNDRED MILLION FROM THE GET GO?!!!!! :shock:  :shock:  :shock:  :shock:

This same figure is mentioned as the amount fund raisers are hoping to raise to contribute towards the memorial's ultimate construction:

WTC Memorial Foundation

To raise funds for the memorial and oversee its construction, a diverse group of more than 30 distinguished members was appointed on December 1, 2004, to serve as the board of directors for the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton each accepted invitations to serve as honorary board members. The group, which includes corporate executives, victims’ family members, civic leaders, and philanthropists, will work together to raise about $500 million for the construction of the memorial and cultural center on the site. The board held its first meeting on January 5, 2005.

Funds raised by the foundation will be applied toward the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Memorial Center and the cultural facilities located at the World Trade Center site, as well as related educational programs and commemorative activities.

The cultural center will be comprised of two buildings incorporating dance, theatre, museum, and fine arts facilities. In October 2004, Frank Gehry was chosen to design the performing arts complex, which includes the Joyce Theater International Dance Center as well as the Signature Theatre Center. The Norwegian firm Snøhetta will design the museum complex, which will house the Drawing Center and the International Freedom Center. The institutions will host other events and organizations such as the Tribeca Film Festival and the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble. Performance spaces, screening rooms, galleries, education programs, and rehearsal spaces also will be made available for community and cultural uses.

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/looking_ahead/wtc_memorial.asp

Of course, there are always those unexpected--or, unaccounted-for--costs that pop up along the way:

During the daylong hearing, Gretchen Dykstra, the president and chief executive of the memorial foundation, allowed that the $500 million estimated cost of building the memorial and accompanying museum did not include reinforcing the slurry wall on the west side of the original World Trade Center basement. The display of this 70-foot-high artifact is to be the centerpiece of the largest exhibition hall. And it will cost at least $25 million, she said.

http://www.voicesofsept11.org/artman/publish/WTC/article_002794.php

Construction just kicked off on the Freedom Tower:

April 27, 2006

In a banner day for Lower Manhattan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor George Pataki, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, and other rebuilding officials joined developer Larry Silverstein this morning to welcome construction crews to the World Trade Center site, marking the official start of construction for the Freedom Tower.

[...]

Though the need for construction of a strong slurry wall to protect the site from the waters of the Hudson River means that it will be some time before office towers begin to rise visibly, the Freedom Tower is on track for completion in 2011, with tower three completed the same year, tower four completed in 2012, and tower two completed in "pretty much the same timeframe," Silverstein added.

http://www.lowermanhattan.info/news/freedom_tower_construction_begins_15635.asp

The revised design (from June, 2005) that will now comprise the Freedom Tower and its surrounding complex of buildings:








I kinda dig the original Freedom Tower design.  Still, many of the new, surrounding towers pictured below appear to remain as carry-overs in the revised design:



Would have looked so much more elegant at night:



Going to see "United 93" with a large group of co-workers tomorrow night.  The film is sort of a touchy subject for some (those who think it too soon for such a movie), but family members of the victims strongly endorse the picture, and 10% of opening-week proceeds will be donated to the Flight 93 National Memorial Fund.  

"Just about everyone I know is scared to see United 93, which premiered at The TriBeCa Film Festival Tuesday night. The uneasiness is understandable. This is not a movie like other movies. As you watch United 93, the anxiety gathers in your gut, a dread too real to shake off. The director, Paul Greengrass, creates a documentary surface so realistic, he seduces us into feeling that we're seeing the harrowing events of September 11 as they actually happened."
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/Living/movie_reviews.jsp

Reviews, in general, have been overwhelmingly positive.

Coincidently, "Portraits of Courage: Flight 93" is airing on television as I type.

[Ray]

Personally, I liked this design...

[doombug]

:lol:

I didn't get it at first, but now I see that raised digit.