Deadline set for Trade Centre site

A blueprint for the future of the World Trade Centre site is expected by December 1, New York city and state officials said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, along with the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, formalised a joint effort to rebuild the 16-acre site during the Port Authority’s annual meeting.

Six proposals are to be submitted by July 1, Port Authority chairman Jack Sinagra said yesterday. The final blueprint will be chosen by December.

The plan will outline the size and location of a memorial site, offices and retail stores, parking, and pedestrian and vehicle traffic but will not determine a precise design, Sinagra said.

Officials said families of September 11 victims would be consulted on the memorial. Larry Silverstein, who held the lease on the twin towers, will be included in the planning.

The Port Authority owns the land on which the towers once stood.