CLOSE AD ×

Governor Cuomo trying to jump-start stalled Calatrava World Trade Center church

It Might Take a Miracle

Governor Cuomo trying to jump-start stalled Calatrava World Trade Center church

Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox National Shrine as it appeared in April of this year (Jonathan Hilburg/AN)

A year and a half after progress was halted at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine in Lower Manhattan after the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA) defaulted on its construction payments, Governor Andrew Cuomo is reportedly stepping in to get the church finished.

Santiago Calatrava’s design for the church, an $80 million replacement for the 1916 building at 155 Cedar that was destroyed in the September 11th attacks, was first unveiled in 2013. That capped years of negotiations between the GOA and the city, which agreed to lease the land beneath the church to the Archdiocese for $1 a year, for 198 years.

Construction on the ribbed, glowing church—Calatrava drew inspiration from the Hagia Sophia and the Church of the Holy Savior in Istanbul—began in 2014, and the building topped out in 2016.

Rendering of a Santiago Calatrava's new St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox National Shrine
A model of Santiago Calatrava’s new St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox National Shrine (Courtesy Port Authority of New York & New Jersey)

While St. Nicholas was originally on track to open in 2018, Skanska USA, the church’s head construction firm, terminated its contract with the Archdiocese in December 2017 over the GOA’s failure to pay. As first reported by The Pappas Post, the Archdiocese had tapped a restricted pool of construction funds to pay off a mounting deficit, leaving it shorthanded when payment was due. The church has sat vacant and unfinished ever since.

In a statement released last year, the Archdiocese installed a new board of trustees to oversee St. Nicholas, and formed the nonprofit Friends of St. Nicholas to fundraise for the church’s completion. At the time, the Archdiocese called these “significant steps” towards resuming construction. The formation of the board follows recommendations stemming from an earlier internal investigation, with work from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Now, according to the New York Post, Governor Cuomo is reaching out to potential backers to make up the $40 million shortfall.

Cuomo has reportedly been reaching out to donors with deep pockets to join Friends of St. Nicholas and fundraise to finish the church. John Catsimatidis, the billionaire owner of the Gristedes Foods supermarket chain, Democratic donor Dennis Mehiel, and Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas have all been contacted by Cuomo, according to the Post. According to a spokesperson for the governor’s office, Cuomo has also made overtures to the Port Authority as well.

CLOSE AD ×