History of the Freedom Tower

Following the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, there was much debate regarding the future of the World Trade Center site. Proposals began almost immediately, and by 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation organized a competition to determine how to use the land. Public rejection of the first round of designs, the "Preliminary Design Concepts", led to a second, more open competition in December 2002, the "Innovative Design Study", in which a design by Daniel Libeskind was selected. This design went through many revisions, largely because of disagreements with developer Larry Silverstein, who held the lease to the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001.
A final design for the "Freedom Tower" was formally unveiled on June 28, 2005. To satisfy security issues raised by the New York City Police Department, a 187-foot (57 m) concrete base was added in April of that year. The final design included plans to clad the base in glass prisms to address criticism that the base looked like a "concrete bunker" (though these proved unworkable and a simpler facing is planned). Contrasting with Libeskind's plan, the final design tapers octagonally as it rises. Its designers stated that the tower will be a "monolithic glass structure reflecting the sky and topped by a sculpted antenna." Commenting on a completion date, Larry Silverstein stated in 2006: "By 2012 we should have a completely rebuilt World Trade Center more magnificent, more spectacular than it ever was." On April 26, 2006, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved a conceptual framework that enabled foundation construction to begin, and a formal agreement was drafted on the following day, the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Empire State Building. Construction began in May with a formal ceremony that took place when the construction team arrived. The building's topping out has been pushed back to at least late 2011, and it is projected to be ready for occupancy in 2013.
In 2009, the Port Authority changed the name of the building from "Freedom Tower" to "One World Trade Center", stating that this name is the "easiest for people to identify with".