Historic Church Project Completes Near WTC

General contractor, PRO, has finally wrapped up construction on the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, located across the street from the World Trade Center Memorial in Manhattan's Financial District.

After the original church was destroyed in the September 11th Attacks in 2001, its rebuilding was plagued by a series of project cancelations, funding issues, and construction halts, until work finally resumed at the start of 2021. In total, construction took approximately 10 years, having first kicked off in 2012.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey became developer for the project after the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church signed a formal lease and purchase agreement with the authority in 2017. The agreement is for 198 years, with an additional 99-year extension, and the option to buy.

Designed by  PRO, the church is located within Liberty Park, which sits atop the WTC Vehicular Security Center. As a result, the main structure sits above street level, and at grade with the elevated park. Fabricated and installed by MG McGrath, the exterior features marble cladding materials, as well as opaque sections of facade, which allows light from within to illuminate the surface at night.

Just like the exterior, the interior of the church is clad with beautiful marble slabs, with incredibly detailed carvings and trim pieces throughout.

The interior also prominently features a large collection of iconography, hand-painted by world-renowned monks, Father Loukas, and Father Pachimos. The pair drew inspiration from the Hagia Sofia mosque in Istanbul as well as the Parthenon temple in Athens.

While still under construction, a consecration ceremony was held at the church on July 4th of 2022. St. Nicholas is now open to the public and the parish has begun holding regularly scheduled mass services in their long-awaited, new home.

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