The Deutsche Bank Building at 130 Liberty Street (the "Building") in Lower Manhattan was damaged on September 11, 2001. The condition of the Building was the subject of litigation between Deutsche Bank as its owner and the insurers for the Building.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation acquired the Building from Deutsche Bank on August 31, 2004 and is finalizing plans to clean and deconstruct the building. LMDC engaged the services of environmental consultants to conduct environmental testing and characterization of the building materials, dust, and mold. The testing and characterization process is ongoing and the initial results were released on September 14, 2004. Contractor will be performing the cleaning and deconstruction of the building.

Background

On September 11, 2001, the Building was damaged when debris from the World Trade Center broke windows and cut a 15 story gash in the north façade of the Building. Since September 11, 2001, the Building has been unoccupied and was the subject of litigation between Deutsche Bank and the insurers for the Building.

In October of 2003, Governor Pataki appointed former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to mediate discussions between Deutsche Bank and its insurers. In early 2004, an accord between Deutsche Bank and its insurers was reached to bring down the Deutsche Bank building. The deconstruction will remove the shrouded Deutsche Bank building that had been a constant grim reminder of the events of September 11, 2001.

Under the terms of the accord, LMDC was able to purchase the land and will pay for the deconstruction of the building. The agreement caps the cost of cleaning and demolition to $45 million and the insurers would pay any costs above the agency's cap. More »

Environmental Testing and Building Characterization

Over the last two years, Deutsche Bank and its insurers have conducted environmental testing of the Building in connection with their litigation. LMDC engaged the services of environmental consultants to conduct its own environmental testing and characterization of the building materials, dust, and mold. A report identifying the initial findings of the characterization study of the building and the contaminants of potential concern has been completed by Louis Berger and was released on September 14, 2004.

• Click here to view the Initial Building Characterization Study Report

The Initial Building Characterization Study that was released in September identified the need for supplemental testing to be performed in areas that were previously inaccessible prior to LMDC taking ownership of the building. Once LMDC acquired the building in August, 2004 the supplemental testing occurred in the building’s vertical shafts, interior wall interstitial spaces, HVAC system, cell system, curtain wall cavity, and the exterior fa&circum;ade. These test results were released in January, 2005 and will be used as a basis for amending the deconstruction plan.

• Click here to view the Supplemental Investigation Summary Reports

Cleaning and Deconstruction Work

In December, 2004 the LMDC released the draft Phase I Deconstruction Plan and formally submitted the plan to Federal, State and City Regulatory Agencies for review and comment. The proposed Deconstruction Plan submitted for review to the government regulators provides that the 130 Liberty Street building will be deconstructed in two phases:

• Phase I will involve abatement of identified interior ACBM, cleaning and removal of specified World Trade Center (WTC) dust within the building, and “soft strip and interior gut” of most interior non-structural materials, as well as the erection of the tower crane and hoist on the site. Phase I, is scheduled to begin this winter (2004~2005).
• Phase II will include the abatement of identified Asbestos Containing Building Materials (ACBM) associated with the exterior of the structure, the disassembly and removal of some remaining interior non-structural materials, removal of rooftop mechanical equipment and the remaining building envelope, and then finally the structural components of the building.

The actual timeline and plans for the cleaning and the steps necessary to deconstruct the building will be finalized after the Phase I and Phase II Deconstruction Plans have received approval by all of the applicable Regulatory Agencies.

The deconstruction of the building at 130 Liberty Street is expected to consist generally of: (a) cleaning and preparation of the building for deconstruction; (b) deconstructing the building; (c) undertaking environmental monitoring during the deconstruction; (d) transporting and disposing of all waste and debris from the building; and (e) backfilling, grading and paving the Site as appropriate following the cleaning and deconstruction.

Regulatory Oversight

The LMDC is the owner of 130 Liberty and is fully responsible for the cleaning and deconstruction of the building. As a City/State agency that is federally funded through HUD, the LMDC must comply with all Federal, State and City regulations pertaining to environmental protection, asbestos abatement, hazardous material disposal and construction. The LMDC released the draft Phase I deconstruction plan in December, 2004 and formally submitted for review to the following agencies:

• United States Environmental Protection Agency
  
• United State Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  
• New York State Department of Labor
  
• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
  
• New York City Department of Environmental Protection
  
• New York City Department of Buildings
  
• New York State Department of Transportation
  
• New York City Department of Transportation
  
  
• New York City Office of Emergency Management
  
  • Fire Department of New York
    
  • New York Police Department
    
  • New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

The LMDC received comments from regulatory agencies in January, 2005 and has begun to review those comments and amend the draft deconstruction plan. The LMDC will resubmit a revised plan to the regulatory agencies for final approval prior to work beginning on the project.

• Click here to view the regulatory agency comments.

Read More Links

• WTC Master Plan
• Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement
• Press Release
• Partial Action Plan 7