Completion of WTC Rebuilding Seen by '13

New York City developer Larry Silverstein says he expects the entire rebuilding effort at Ground Zero to be done by 2013, at an estimated total cost of $13 billion.Delivering the keynote address at a New York University capital markets conference in New York, Mr. Silverstein estimated that $7 billion of that total would come from private investors for the commercial real estate component, including an expected additional $1.1 billion insurance payout and Liberty Bond funding. Commenting on the recent jury verdict that found that the two planes flown into the World Trade Center towers on 9/11 constituted two separate attacks, he said, "It's extremely gratifying to have your position validated and your judgment call vindicated by a jury of your peers." The redevelopment schedule calls for 7 WTC building (a 52-story structure on which construction has already begun) to go up first, by the end of 2005 or early 2006. As for tenants, he said "active negotiations" are under way and expressed amazement at the amount of interest in the space. The Freedom Tower, which will be the tallest building in the world, at 1776 feet -- "for at least 10 minutes," until some developer tries to top it, he said -- is slated for completion in 2009.