By Brian Hwang ’17 and Knute Kvarekvaal ’16

On Friday, October 23rd, the Real Estate Association (REA) and members of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate met with executives and associates from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and toured the 16-acre World Trade Center Site including One World Trade Center. The tour was led by Nicolas W. Houselog, a principal property representative at the Port Authority.

The World Trade Center redevelopment is collection of 12.8 million square feet of office space, street and below-ground retail, and a transportation center which connects multiple transit lines into a cohesive and interactive urban environment. The highlight of the tour was a look inside the main oculus of the Santiago Calatrava-designed transportation hub.

The group visit began at the completed 4 World Trade Center which houses the offices for the Port Authority redevelopment team. The tour continued through the future ground floor retail at 4 World Trade Center and the underground transition to the transit hub.  The retail partnership with Westfield and the overall vision for the retail at the World Trade Center was discussed. The goal is to create a seamless underground user experience that connects the ferry terminal in the west through to Fulton Center on the east.

The tour then proceeded through the One World Trade Center subway entrance, the Conde Nast lobby, and into the main lobby of One World Trade.  Topics discussed included security, leasing, tenant mix and the new observation deck. The World Trade Center security is revolutionizing the way office buildings handle security concerns including measures such as the centralized vehicle security center.

The Friday morning with the Port Authority was a comprehensive tour of the site, from both an urban mixed-use development and an architectural perspective. The group explored the underlying themes and nuances the different architects have contributed to overall redevelopment.

Knute Kvarekvaal ’16 is the VP of Site Tours for the Real Estate Association at Columbia Business School. He is a second-year student focusing on real estate investment. Knute will be returning to the Real Estate Investment group at Norges Bank Investment Management in New York after graduation.

Brian Hwang ’17 is the AVP of Site Tours for the Real Estate Association at Columbia Business School. He is a first-year student focusing on real estate development and investment. Brian previously worked for CBRE in the Valuation & Advisory Group in Los Angeles.