AMEX BREAKS GROUND
- Lois Weiss
- Jul 9
- 5 min read
By LOIS WEISS
American Express and Silverstein Properties celebrated the groundbreaking of the new American Express Tower in Lower Manhattan on July 9, 2026 with an overflowing crowd in a tent erected on site.
"Our commitment to this site has become a continued legacy, where now power meets permanence," said Lisa Silverstein. "My father began this journey almost 25 years ago in 2001, passing me the baton of responsibility a few years ago. I carry this torch, stretching the arc of time into the next chapter with tremendous pride, confidence, and optimism for the future."
Larry Silverstein missed the ceremonies which had been pushed forward several times until it lapped over his annual time to vacation on his yacht, the Silver Chalice, with his wife, Klara. "At 95 years old, I'm just grateful he's in the world with all of us," his daughter continued. "Hopefully, he'll be beside me at the ribbon cutting in 2031."
Mayor Zohran Mamdani showed up and didn't even knock capitalism for a change but did emphasize the upcoming tower's sustainability and the $250 million it will pay in [property] taxes when it opens in 2031.
He also solemnly reflected on 9/11. "We are standing today on hallowed ground, 25 years ago this September, a horrific terror attack was launched against our city, against the building that rose here that carried the same name. The towers fell. Thousands of our fellow New Yorkers were killed. Our city was plunged into grief," the Mayor said in words that he may repeat when this September 11th arrives.
"For many months, rubble filled a site that had long been defined by greatness. On this ground, great deals had been agreed, inventions had been made, economic progress had been won," Mamdani said. "For a moment, it seemed, in the aftermath of that horrific attack, that perhaps greatness would only be a memory here. But over the months and years that followed, greatness returned."
"It returned in the first responders who sacrificed so much on behalf of their fellow New Yorkers. It returned in those who cleared the pile and laid new foundations. It returned in the first office workers who came back to work, and it returns today as we break ground on a new building that will rise 1,226 feet into the sky, and for that and all else, thank you," the Mayor added.
The 2 million square foot, 55-story building will house 10,000 employees and feature modern workspaces, numerous outdoor terraces and sustainable technologies.
The project is expected to create over 3,200 construction jobs and contribute $6 billion to the local economy.
"It's about building on a legacy, honoring a remarkable past and taking a bold step to the future," said Denise Pickett, President of Enterprise Shared Services at American Express.
Designed by Foster + Partners, it is being developed by Silverstein Properties with Turner Construction on a 99-year ground lease from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, American Express took over Larry Silverstein's original lease and signed a new lease for an additional 25 years to get to the full 99 years.
The Port's executive director, Kathryn Garcia, said, "Markets rise and fall, headlines change, but we need to be building for the next generation, and that is what Silverstein Properties and American Express are doing today. They are building for the next generation, for their colleagues to be able to collaborate and bring their most creative selves."
Port Chairman Kevin J. O'Toole, added, "We have a covenant with those individuals who died 25 years ago, and those who have died since, and we have made a commitment to them that we will restore this campus. It'll be vibrant. It'll be alive. It'll be in the name of those who have perished. That will make this city as great as it was, and it'll be greater than it ever has been."
But O'Toole also heaped praise on Silverstein. "Let me tell you about Larry Silverstein," O'Toole said. "We should be teaching our kids about what Larry has meant to the city and this country, we should be building monuments and bridges in your father's name and likeness, and talk about what he's done in terms of his commitment. But let me say this: he is one tough negotiator, difficult. Nine years of this, I will tell you, I have nothing but admiration for Larry and the family and the organization, what they've done in believing the city is nothing but first rate, and we should all take a lesson from that."
The tower also symbolizes resilience and commitment, reflecting American Express's 170-year history in the city and its own, $11.4 billion economic impact.
"...this project will be built with the most highly skilled and trained tradesmen anywhere in North America, and you can count on a project being built right, being built once, and being built with excellence because of the many unions," said Gary LaBarbera, President of the the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York.
LaBarbera also recalled all of those who died on that day 25 years ago and those who then stepped in to help and got sick. "Never forget the sacrifices that were made on that day....The recovery and cleanup was done with grit, determination, and commitment, and a sense of duty to our city and to our nation," LeBarbara said. "That same skill, commitment, and grit will be put into building this building."
Architects at Foster & Partners say the construction is very complicated due to its location over transit and mechanicals for the underground Occulus and shopping areas.
Among those in attendance were architect Daniel Liebeskind, who designed the master plan for the new World Trade Center site; former Port Authority Executive Director, Rick Cotton; Janno Lieber who previously led Silverstein's rebuilding efforts and now leads the MTA; Silverstein's now retired attorney, Lenny Boxer and his son, Jason Boxer of Estreich & Company; Tal Kerret, President of Silverstein Properties, COO Dino Fusco and the firm's leasing director, Jeremy Moss; Jonathan Mechanic of Fried Frank, the first lawyer to become chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York; Neil Goldmacher of Newmark; Carol Willis founder and director of the Skyscraper Museum along with politicians including Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal; City Council Speaker Julie Menin, Deputy Mayor Julie Su; City Comptroller Mark Levine; State Senator Brian Cavanaugh and Assembly Member Grace Lee.
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