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THE PLANNED Freedom Tower, designed by famed architect Daniel Libeskind to reach the symbolic height of 1,776 feet, has served for the past two years as the emblem of the rebirth of New York after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Now a growing number of downtown business leaders are complaining that the building has emerged as the major impediment to the redevelopment of Ground Zero. The critics argue that the enormous building, which is slated to put 2.6 million square feet of office space on the market, will be exceedingly difficult to lease. Some of them are even saying that construction of the Freedom Tower should be postponed to make way for more commercially viable buildings on the five-tower site.
"There are many people who think it makes sense to accelerate development of the other buildings, which will clearly be easier to develop and rent," says Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a network of business leaders. The Freedom Tower presents the biggest challenge from the standpoint of size, cost and concerns about security."
The Freedom Tower's groundbreaking is slated for...