By Jason Sanchez CNN
One World Trade Center
NEW YORK (CNN Money) — After a decade of planning and construction, One World Trade Center is getting ready to open for business by the end of this year, but before it opens, CNN Money got a sneak peek at what the tallest building in North America will look like from the inside.
Workers are still building out the lobby, but there are some distinctive nods to the original World Trade Center complex.
“This beautiful white marble is from the same quarry as the marble that was in the lobby of the original twin towers,” Jordan Barowitz, of The Durst Organization, told CNN.
And the entrance is starting to take shape.
“As you can see the floors are in, the walls are in, the ceiling is in. Behind me is a glass wall that protects the lobby, and these slabs bring natural light in,” Barowitz said.
Up on the 63rd floor, we saw what finished office space will look like for some of the buildings [sic] tenants.
“This is our marketing center and it gives prospective tenants a sense of what the building will look like when it’s built out and occupied. This floor is about 40,000 square feet. The building tapers as it gets up, the floors get a little bit smaller. The asking rents below the 64th floor are about 75 dollars a square foot, and up above it’s upon request,” Barowitz explained.
Barowitz says 55 percent of the office space has already been leased, anchored by media company Conde Nast, but the floors with the best views aren’t for rent.
Developers of One World Trade Center are saving the top three floors for an observation deck complete with food, drinks and a small theater.
“102nd floor of One World Trade Center is the highest occupied floor in the building. It will be the observation deck open to the public. This floor is a 360-degree unobstructed views of the metropolitan region,” Barowitz said.
The building is by no means finished. In fact, there is still some heavy construction going on in some areas, but much of One World Trade Center has started to take form, and it’s not hard to imagine what the finished building will look like when it opens later this year.
