Amazing View Few Have Seen

It's cold at the top of the world, but this morning Bisnow braved the frigid temps (and three elevators) to bring you this photo, a view from 1 WTC's 100th floor, which will open in 2015 as One World Observatory.

Pardon our reflective green construction vest, but the Port Authority folks are sticklers about safety. We were there to hear Legends Hospitality's plan for the three-story observation deck, the Port Authority's latest JV with a private entity at the WTC (following Durst as developer of the 3M SF 1 WTC) and Westfield to build 400k SF of retail. Legends--a partnership of Checketts Partners Investment Fund, the Yankees, and the Dallas Cowboys--decided to go for the RFP 14 months ago to be a part of "the most important building in the world," as Legends CEO Dave Checketts calls it.

We snapped Port Authority chairman David Samson, Dave Cheketts, and Port Authority executive director Pat Foye. The taller of the two Davids says the experience (it's too grand to be called a visit, Pat says) will last at least an hour: it startswith the "queue," which will honor the site's resilience and its rebuilding; then a super fast elevator ride with life-size video of the rise of NYC over the centuries; and a film on the 102nd floor about NYC's global nature followed by a curtain-rise reveal of the view. Guests then have the run of the 100th, 101st and 102nd floors, including dining options. Pat says Legends' 15-year lease will bring the Port Authority $875M of revenue.

We also snapped the tower from the other end. All 105 floors are up and the goods are half leased. It's been almost two years, says David Samson, since he and his colleagues gathered on the 34th floor, back then the top, to sign Conde Nast at 1 WTC. Things have come a long way (71 floors, one might say) since then.