Generally I would agree, but: 1. The Dow is up 15% for the year. 2. The tower was planned at the height of the credit/housing bubble... After reading about the glout of office spaces in NYC, I wonder just how can they fill the tower up? After the Empire State Building was completed for years it went with a 20-30% occupancy. The tower is more a political decission than a sound business plan...
I agree with you that this particular project is not systematic of a new construction orgy. However throughout the world we're seeing massive new projects. Many of America's most visible sports stadiums were built before or during the Great Depression, i.e. Yankee Stadium, Soldier Field, the L.A. Coliseum along with huge football stadiums on college campuses, ect. I had thought that the stadium boom of the 90's (that's STILL going on today) was the signal of a major secular trend change. I'm still waiting.....
I wouldn't be surprised if the repulsive, insulting & Orwellian <b>name</b> of this building kept many businesses away.
A "Freedom Tower" that will have cameras everywhere taking your picture, with state of the art security monitoring your every move... Now that's Freedom...circa 1984.
This is about the 2nd time I've agreed with ZZZ - it's a truly ridiculous name. The best design for the replacement was this: http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/funnypictures/ig/100-Funny-Pictures/New-World-Trade-Center.htm How f*cking COOL would it have been to build that as a monument? Give Al Queda the middle finger! Goddam, it would get Bin Laden's goat every frickin time he saw it. It would stick in the craw of the whole suicide bomber brigade in the Middle East. It would be a daily "f*ck you" to everyone who remotely supported the attacks. One could hardly imagine a more "American" building. I can't believe they didn't build that one!