Sept. 11 Anniversary: What Is The Status Of Rebuilding Ground Zero And The New World Trade Center? [PHOTO]

This Tuesday marks 11 years since the attack that destroyed the original World Trade Center in New York City. In the time since that horrific day, a new multibillion-dollar World Trade Center, led by the rising 1 WTC tower, is dominating the Lower Manhattan skyline.

Among the first offices to open for business will be the 72-story 4 World Trade Center at the southeast corner of the site. It has reached its full height of 977 feet and is scheduled to open in October 2013. Tenants will include the Port Authority, the bistate agency that owns the trade center site and lost its headquarters when the twin towers were attacked.

One World Trade Center, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, is set to open its doors on the northwest corner of the site in 2014. Consisting of a staggering 104 stories, the building's peak will reach 1,776 feet and will boast 3 million square feet of office space. Tenants who have already reserved a spot include magazine publisher Conde Nast and the federal government's General Services Administration. Observation decks will exist on 100th, 101st and 102nd floors. The building without the spire wil stand 1,368 feet tall. It is expected to cost $3.9 billion by the time it is finished, according to the Associated Press.

From there, 3 World Trade Center, which is scheduled to be reach 80 stories and 1,150 feet when it's complete, is expected to open in 2015 or 2016. According to AP, Developer Larry Silverstein is required to rent out at least 400,000 square feet of space before finishing the building, which explains the late completion date.

Also, 2 World Trade Center is up only to street level but is planned as an 88-story skyscraper. According to reports, it will not be built until the commercial real estate market strengthens enough to flll it with an adequate number of tennants.

Access to the World Trade Center will be available via a new transportation hub which will connect 13 subway lines and PATH trains to New Jersey when it opens in 2015. The hub will replace the temporary PATH station that was built after the Sept. 11 attacks. Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the station will be home to two levels of retail space and will serve an estimated 250,000 travelers a day. The cost of the transportation hub, originally pegged at $2.2 billion, is now expected to exceed $3.5 billion. In addition, an underground vehicle security center and bus parking facility just south of the main trade center site will open in 2013.

In addition to the World Trade Center, workers have built a memorial to those who lost their lives in the attack. The 8-acre memorial quadrangle at the World Trade Center opened last year on the 10th anniversary of the attacks and has since been visited by 4.5 million people. Twin reflecting pools lay where the towers stood, and a museum is being constructed in a cavern beneath the plaza.

Work on the museum came to a halt amid a funding dispute between the memorial foundation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The AP reported that Joseph Daniels, president of the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, said once construction resumes it will take more than a year to finish the job -- meaning the museum might not open until 2014.

Finally, a board of directors has been given the task of raising money to build a performing arts center, which will include a 1,000-seat theater.

--