The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will begin laying the structural foundations for a performing arts center at Ground Zero and the city will eventually reimburse the Authority for up to $44 million. One site under consideration for the center is the the Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street. The plan was approved by the Port Authority on Monday, June 21st.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey are still deciding whether Related Cos. or the Durst Organization will develop One World Trade Center. The decision was expected to be made on June 22nd but will now be made on July 29th instead. Reasons for the delay have not been made public.

One World Trade Center is expected to grow by another fifty floors by the end of the year. When completed in 2013, the building will be the tallest office building in this country. One World Trade Center is currently twenty-six floors. The project will be Gold LEED certified.

The Durst Organization and Related Cos. are the two remaining bidders looking to develop One World Trade Center. The Port Authority will pick a winner by June 22nd. The winning developer will commit a minimum of $100 million to the project as well as manage and market the office building.

A fireproof net will cover the top twenty floors of One World Trade Center while it undergoes construction. The safety measure will protect workers and the public from falling tools and construction items. The netting will feature a billboard with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey logo, the name of the tower and the wtcprogress.com website.

Next month, every development located in the original World Trade Center site will be under construction. This progress has been reached through the collaborative efforts of developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Community Board 1 Chairperson Julie Menin wants the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to use $150 million in leftover funds to build a planned but long-delayed performing arts center at the World Trade Center site. The leftover money is from a federal fund created to help utility companies recover after Sept. 11; the $150 million, however, does not have to be allocated to utility companies.

New York City is appealing a decision by District Judge Alvin Hellerstein that may deny settlement money to injured workers. The City alleges that the judge does not have the proper judicial supervision to determine the compensation packages of each plaintiff.

An editorial in The New York Times voiced measured optimism following an agreement between developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to move forward with rebuilding the World Trade Center (WTC) site. Under the tentative agreement, the Port Authority promised to provide $1.2 billion of the estimated $1.75 billion construction costs of the first tower.

Downtown Manhattan's abundant supply of office space will increase significantly once the proposed World Trade Center towers are completed in a few years. Though the first tower should be fully constructed in 2013, the vacancy rate for downtown office space is predicted to rise 14 percent by 2011.