Jun 16, 2006 5:08 am US/Eastern
9/11 Memorial Cost Could Be Cut In Half
Mayor, Governor Interested In 1 Redesign In Particular
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
The governor and mayor heard several proposals Thursday to redesign the Sept. 11 memorial to meet a smaller budget, reportedly including one that would raise the list of names of those killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks to street level.
The proposal, which would also slightly reduce the size of a Sept. 11 museum, was one that greatly interested Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. George Pataki, according to a person familiar with the memorial discussions. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because officials want to wait until a formal report is issued on the memorial design to speak publicly.
WCBSTV.com 9/11 Special Report Frank Sciame, a developer appointed by Pataki and Bloomberg, presented several design options Thursday to cut the memorial's budget to $500 million. Contractors said last month that it could cost nearly $1 billion to build, prompting politicians to call for a redesign.
The governor's and mayor's offices said in a statement that they were reviewing Sciame's options and would issue a formal report next week. Officials have promised a new, less expensive memorial design by the end of the month.
Some Sept. 11 family members have lobbied strongly to move the list of names and other parts of the memorial to street level, saying they had safety concerns and found it disrespectful to mourn their loved ones underground.
The current memorial design would mark the destroyed World Trade Center towers with two square pools with cascading waterfalls that would go about 30 feet below street level, where visitors could view the names of the dead surrounding the two pools. The design, by architects Michael Arad and Peter Walker, is called "Reflecting Absence."
The option that would raise the names would allow visitors to still see the pools below ground and would keep the waterfalls as part of the design, the person familiar with the proposals said.
Other proposals presented Thursday would eliminate the waterfalls, limit underground access and would cut security costs by creating one common entrance for visitors to the eight-acre memorial complex, the person said.
All the options presented did not include the cost of preparing the site for construction, which Pataki has said in recent weeks should be paid for by "government resources." That cost was estimated in May at $300 million and is now estimated at less than $200 million, officials said.
Just $130 million has been raised privately for the memorial in a year. Up to $350 million has been committed by two government agencies in charge of rebuilding ground zero.
Sciame met with dozens of design consultants, Sept. 11 family members and the memorial's architects, including Michael Arad, before coming up with the proposals. At a public appearance on Wednesday, Arad said that he had wanted visitors to travel underground to have a peaceful place away from city life to commune together and mourn those killed.
"To me, this space is so important," Arad said. "And that's what I'm trying to do with the memorial right now, is to see that realized."
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
