Bovis Lend Lease

Yesterday the Port Authority awarded the largest single construction contract for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center to Navillus Contracting in Long Island City, City Room reported.

Navillus, which is new to ground zero, joined with Bovis Lend Lease to bid on the $103.9 million concrete contract.  read more »

Almost five months after a deadly fire halted deconstruction on the former Deutsche Bank building at Ground Zero, the state has picked a new contractor to oversee its demolition, New York-based LVI Services (which also specializes in controlling the “superbug” bacteria … just in case).

Ironically, LVI was originally slated to be involved in the deconstruction of the building, though a deal with it and lead contractor Bovis Lend Lease fell apart, according to an August article in The New York Times. As a result of the failed deal, Bovis brought on board the John Galt Corporation, the company that has reportedly come under investigation for the fire on Aug. 18 that killed two firefighters. The Times has more on John Galt here.  read more »

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation came out with a press release formally acknowledging the new, higher estimates for Michael Arad's design, as reported this morning, and breaking out the $300 million infrastructure separately. In fact, the release never mentions the figure $300 million:

[T]he Foundation and by extension, its private donors, should not have to pay for site-wide infrastructure costs which include structural systems, mechanical fit out of the central chiller plant, and a police and emergency operations center.

Full release after jump.  read more »

What's funny about the debate over the World Trade Center Memorial's cost and fundraising is that only one of them can be a problem. If the cost can be limited to $500 million, as Bloomberg wants, then it is almost paid for: there is already $480 million in private and public funds received or pledged, if one counts the $100 million recently chipped in by the Port Authority.

The real question is who is paying for the $300 million in infrastructure costs anticipated in the latest estimate by Bovis Lend Lease, and carried in The Times and the Daily News. If the memorial foundation is supposed to bear that bill, the fundraising to date looks particularly meek. But the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, the city-state agency overseeing the site's redevelopment, is pushing to get the Port Authority to bear that cost.

Guess what? Expect more bickering among governmental agencies at Ground Zero.

-Matthew Schuerman