THE FREEDOM TOWER BY THE NUMBERS...ONLY IN NY

Yesterday


The Empire State Building was completed in 1931.


It was 1,250 feet tall making it the tallest building in the world at that time.


It was built during the Depression yet it was completed under budget ($24,718,000) and ahead of schedule.


The building was completed in one year and forty five days.


Today


The Freedom Tower will be completed in ???? (Your guess is as good as the Port Authority’s)


It will be 1,776 feet tall. It is being constructed during a Recession yet the current price tag is at least $3 Billion.


It appears that it will take over 7 years to complete and even the current price tag and timeline seem optimistic. (using the 2006 restart date)


Let’s compare this to some other more recent buildings under construction.


The Calatrava 2,000 foot Chicago spire $1.5 Billion


The Russian Tower 2,008 feet $2.2 Billion


The Shanghai World Financial Center 1,614 feet $1.2 Billion


To be fair the Burj Dubai’s 2,500 foot tower cost $4.1 Billion but they don't appear concerned about what they spend.


Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?


We are going to spend 125 times more than it cost to build the Empire State Building and it is going to take 6 years longer to build.


By comparison we are going to spend $1 to $2 billion more than comparable buildings under construction.

And here’s the kicker it is not even being built to code.


Only in New York.