NY Times unveils new HQ plans

"It will be another statement about the class and unique character of our city," Gov. George Pataki said at the unveiling. "And it shows, Sept. 11 notwithstanding, that there is still belief in tomorrow."

The design consists of a tall, slim column rising 748 feet from the street level to a rooftop garden surrounded by 92-foot walls. A seven-story building, adjacent to the main tower, will house the Times' newsroom.

Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the building will have 1.54 million square feet of space, including retail space, at least two restaurants, shops and a ground floor garden.

The transparency of the building, Piano said, will allow it to "talk to the street, which is where the newspaper takes its inspiration."

Piano, who designed Paris' Centre Georges Pompidou, said he took his inspiration, in part, from "the city's capacity to continually change and metamorphose."

Michael Golden, vice chairman of The Times Company, said the new building will allow the consolidation of some 2,500 employees, currently spread out at seven different locations.

The Times will own and occupy 800,000 gross square feet of space on floors two through 28. The remaining floors will be leased.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2003 and be completed by 2006. The job has not been bid out yet, so there was no price tag attached to the project.