Groundbreaking Starts the Construction Clock
Turner Construction broke ground July 9, 2026 on 2 World Trade Center, the final commercial office tower at the World Trade Center campus. The tower rises 55 stories to 1,226 feet at 200 Greenwich Street. Silverstein Properties is the developer. American Express will occupy the building as its global headquarters. Turner expects to complete the project in 2031.
Three figures shape how a group moves through the district. The building adds 2 million square feet of office space. It has capacity for up to 10,000 people across flexible workspaces. More than an acre of outdoor space will sit on the site in terraces and gardens. Project teams will pursue LEED certification and install fully electric, energy-efficient systems.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns the PATH system that terminates beside the site. Kevin O'Toole, the authority's chairman, called the groundbreaking an important milestone in fulfilling a promise made 25 years ago to rebuild, to restore and to remember.
What Changes for Group Walks
The Oculus is the headhouse of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. The mezzanine below it connects the PATH terminal to the subway network.
The completed tower puts up to 10,000 people on the same sidewalks the group uses. Build the buffer into your timings during the construction years.
The July 2026 announcement carries no pedestrian management plan for the site. Ask for that plan before you print walking times.
A Revised Route Through Lower Manhattan
Run the group in this order.
1. World Trade Center Transportation Hub. Gather inside the Oculus. The station is the eastern terminus of the Newark-World Trade Center line, which runs at all times, and the Hoboken-World Trade Center line, which runs at all times except nights. PATH recorded 14,216,591 passengers at the station in 2025, the highest total on the 13-station system. Hold the group on the mezzanine level and issue the next leg before you move.
2. 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The memorial plaza sits at street level above the station. Entry rules move with the season and with ceremony schedules. Confirm the group booking slot before the departure date.
3. Westfield World Trade Center. The mall occupies 365,000 square feet within the hub. Use it as the wet-weather and heat hold. It works as a meeting point because the concourse sits below street level and stays open through the walk.
4. Fulton Center by the Dey Street Passageway. The passageway runs under Dey Street and links the hub east to Fulton Center. That connection reaches the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, E, J, N, R, W and Z services. Route groups who arrive by subway through this leg and keep them off the street crossing.
5. Brookfield Place and the Battery Park City Ferry Terminal. The West Concourse runs west from the hub to Brookfield Place and the ferry terminal. Close the route at the water.
Timing Notes for the 2026 to 2031 Build
Treat the construction window as a live variable. Ground was broken in July 2026 and the completion target is 2031.
Confirm four items before each departure. Ask the Port Authority for PATH service changes. Ask the MTA for subway service changes on the 1, A, C, E, N, R and W lines that serve the complex. Ask the ferry operator for the Battery Park City schedule. Ask the memorial for current entry rules.
Then ask Silverstein Properties and Turner Construction for the site pedestrian plan and for any street or sidewalk closure that touches the route. The public announcement does not carry those details.
Allow a 15-minute buffer on each walking leg during peak hours. Allow a second buffer after the memorial, because plaza schedules and security screening absorb time.
Split large parties at the Oculus and rejoin them at the waterfront.