New York Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at One World Trade Center. Photo by Barry Bahler, Dept. of Homeland Security
The U.S. federal government returned to 1 World Trade Center on Sept. 9, 2016, almost 15 years after the attacks on 9/11.
Construction on the tower began in 2004 and was completed in 2016. One World Trade Center is 104 stories, the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere at 1,776 feet. About 67 percent of its 3 million square feet is now leased, according to Reuters.
“More than 1,000 employees of the GSA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol had moved into the space by March, a spokeswoman said. The lease for the approximately 220,000 square feet is $15 million per year,” according to Reuters.
The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke at the event.
“… there was such resolve at the federal level, state level, city level. We’d rebuild here. We would bring back all of the strength that we associated with this location, including now the presence of our federal government. We would show that the terrorists achieved none of their aims. In fact, they strengthened our resolve. And today is one of those days that puts an exclamation point on that idea.,” said de Blasio. “The federal government is back in strength here at the World Trade Center – a message to the entire world that we will never ever renounce our values or be afraid.”
By the numbers: Revitalization of Lower Manhattan after 9/11
- $30 billion in government and private investments
- New lower Manhattan mall with upscale retailers
- Dozens of eateries including a new Eataly and French Le District
- 29 hotels in the area compared to 6 before 9/11
- Nearly 60,000 people live downtown, triple the number in 2000
- 14 million visitors in 2015
- Private sector employment—266,000 workers—is finally nearing pre-9/11 numbers
— Stats from The Associated Press