NEW YORK—The re-opening of the World Trade Center mall Tuesday, is expected to help transform downtown Manhattan shopping and illustrate how much progress has been made in rebuilding and revitalizing the area since the 9/11 attacks.
Shops from Apple to Forever 21 to H&M to John Varvatos will serve an increasingly diverse group of area residents and workers beyond Wall Street bankers that now includes a slew of advertising and media employees. But they'll also be catering to tourists who come to visit the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which requires a delicate touch.
The new spaces let customers tap into technology, as some retailers use the space for their latest ideas. Ford Motor Co. is set to open this fall the first FordHub, a showroom for innovations that’s not a dealership. Shoe purveyor Aldo Group Inc. is using the opening to launch an app feature for this store, which will be rolled out to other stores. Digital billboards in the mall include a 280-foot-long one.
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“We truly believe this will be the center of commerce and culture for lower Manhattan,” says Bill Hecht, chief operating officer of Westfield Corp.’s U.S. division. Westfield manages the retail properties, while the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey owns the real estate.
Hecht describes the location as a “symbol of hope, opportunity, progress and perseverance.”
The 365,000-square-foot center will have more than 100 stores, with about 60 opening Tuesday and the rest by the winter holiday season. Eateries include Eataly’s second Manhattan location, which features foods from Italy and coffee and gelato bars.
It stretches along a four-block underground network that spans the bases of three office towers. While mostly below street level, light beams in through the windows of the winged Oculus, designed by Santiago Calatrava, that top the transportation hub of 13 subway trains and river ferries. More than 300,000 commuters use it on a daily basis.
Westfield says 15 million travelers are expected to visit the areas from the U.S. and around the world next year to see the memorial and nearby places of interest.
“We have huge respect for this site,” Hecht. There is no signage on the side of the mall that faces the 9/11 memorial. Every year on the anniversary of the attacks, the skylight of the Oculus—meant to symbolize the image of a dove released from a child’s hand—will open to bring a slice of the open New York sky into the building.
Westfield said ensuring safety and security at the mall is the highest priority for it and the Port Authority. Uniformed police and private security will be present at the mall, Port Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo said, but declined to give specifics about any other measures.
