Pataki wants 2nd WTC building soon

NEW YORK, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- New York Gov. George Pataki wants a second office building at Ground Zero to be built as "soon as possible."

Pataki is urging developer Larry Silverstein, who held the lease on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, to begin a second office at the site. Silverstein is completing 7 World Trade Center, a 52-story tower still empty of tenants, the New York Daily New reported Sunday.

Bud Perrone, a spokesman for Silverstein, said the developer's choice of architects for the second office building, a 65-story tower, "is coming up." There is no set timetable for construction of the new building, Perrone said.

Pataki said that to ensure funding for the second tower, the remaining $3.5 billion in Liberty Bonds should go for the building. However, city officials said they "will continue to carefully balance the needs of the World Trade Center site against other valuable projects that might be able to move ahead earlier with the assistance of the remaining Liberty Bond allocation."

Construction of the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower is scheduled to begin early next year.