NEW YORK, July 17: Formal proposals for redeveloping the devastated site of the World Trade Center received an overwhelming thumbs down Wednesday from New York city planners, victims’ families and local residents.

The six “concept plans” unveiled Tuesday were roundly criticised for lacking imagination and pandering to the Port Authority of New York, which owns the 65,000 square metre site on which the World Trade Center previously stood and wants a similar amount of office space included in any redevelopment.

All six options share basic common elements, including a permanent memorial, a public open space, one million square meters of commercial office space, a large hotel and 600,000 square feet of retail space.

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), which drew up the plans with the Port Authority, has stressed the designs are merely a launching pad for debate and not a final blueprint.

Nevertheless, the initial reaction was far from positive.

“What’s lacking is a soul,” said Eva Handhart, a planning director with the Municipal Arts Society, which conducted 230 public workshops between March and May to solicit ideas for the World Trade Center site.

“All six plans were essentially identifying ways you could put 11 million square feet of office space in a traditional format around an open area,” Handhart told AFP.

“There was no transcendent vision to reflect the significance of the place or the September 11 event.”

The main challenge facing any redevelopment proposal is balancing the sensibilities of the victims families and the need for a permanent memorial with the need to rebuild and revitalise New York City’s financial district.

“There are good ideas created by these six schemes, but we didn’t look at a wide enough range of alternatives,” said Leevi Kiil, president of the New York chapter of American Institute of Architects.

“There’s not enough breadth. We have an opportunity to raise our sights much higher.”

The New York Times was more openly critical, describing the proposals as “dreary and leaden” and falling far short of public expectations.

“What these proposals demonstrate most conclusively is that nothing can be done ... if the Port Authority insists on reclaiming every inch of commercial space that it controlled before September 11,” the newspaper said.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed after hijackers slammed airliners into each of the twin towers, part of a terrorist attack that also struck the Pentagon and downed a fourth airliner in Pennsylvania.—AFP