One Liberty Plaza, formerly the U.S. Steel Building, is a skyscraper in Lower Manhattan, in New York City, at the location of the former Singer Building (tallest structure ever dismantled) and the former City Investing Building. One Liberty Plaza is currently owned and operated by Brookfield Office Properties. The building is 743 ft (226 m) tall and has 54 floors. It was completed in 1973. At 2,300,000 sq ft (210,000 m2), each floor offers almost 1 acre (0.40 ha) of office space, making it one of the largest office buildings in New York.
Its facade is black, consisting of a structural steel frame. The building was originally commissioned by U.S. Steel. It once housed the headquarters of Merrill Lynch. Currently, a variety of tenants occupy the space, from large law firms to public and not-for-profit agencies like the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation as well as new businesses. The building is bordered by Broadway, Cortlandt Street, Church Street, and Liberty Street. South of the building is Zucotti Park, formerly called Liberty Plaza Park.
History
To build One Liberty Plaza, the famous Singer Building was demolished in 1968. The former City Investing Building adjacent to it was also torn down, completing the footprint for One Liberty Plaza to be constructed.
The building had a substantial renovation in 1989, which involved the creation of a new lobby and elevator system. The lobby and elevators have an extensive security system, and the building has a connection to the New York City Subway's Fulton Street/Fulton Center station (2 3 4 5 A C J Z N R WÂ trains) in the basement.
In 2001, Brookfield Office Properties bought the property for $432 Million.
The building is adjacent to the World Trade Center site. Following the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, the building had substantial facade damage. The building needed hundreds of windows replaced that had been blown out on its western facade and the removal of heavy dust and debris from the floors and equipment on the roof. An outside area on the street beside Brooks Brothers on the ground floor of the building was used as a temporary morgue in the days following the attack. At one point there was a rumor going around that the building was in danger of collapse. These claims were quickly refuted by the New York Times:
"There are no structural concerns with this building," said Ilyse Fink, the director of communications for the city's Department of Buildings, reinforcing a message she has delivered almost daily since Sept. 12. "It is not and was not in danger of collapse. The building is structurally sound."
The building was supposed to be reopened to office workers with a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 22, 2001. But the day before it was to happen, it was decided that it was not yet sufficiently safe for employees to return to the office tower. Some found the delay frustrating, while others were not surprised.
As of 2016, it was the 656th tallest building in the world.
Tenants
One Liberty Plaza is a hub of Wall Street activity, housing the NASDAQ OMX Group Corporate Headquarters (3 floors), and RBC Capital Markets' trading floors. Major tenants are Goldman Sachs (8 floors), the Bank of Nova Scotia (5 floors), the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, and the international law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (531 attorneys on 11 floors). It also houses the corporate headquarters of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, Investment Technology Group, and insurance companies Sirius America, Mutual of America, Swiss Re, Generali, and Allianz and its subsidiaries Fireman's Fund and Interstate/Chicago.
Here are the tenants by floor
See also
- List of tallest buildings in New York City
- List of tallest buildings in the United States
References
External links
- Official website
- One Liberty Plaza on CTBUH
- One Liberty Plaza on Emporis
- One Liberty Plaza on Skyscraperpage.com
- One Liberty Plaza on Structurae
Media related to One Liberty Plaza at Wikimedia Commons
