Reply #27: Here's the best part: they changed it to please their first tenant -- Communist China! [View All]

[bottomtheweaver]

First to sign on

The change came after board members voted to sign a 21-year lease deal with Vantone Industrial Co., a Chinese real estate giant, which will become the first commercial tenant at Ground Zero. It plans to create the China Center, a trade and cultural facility, in 191,000 square feet on floors 64 through 69.

The negotiations with Vantone, which is closely affiliated with the Chinese Communist government, had nothing to do with the name change, PA officials insisted, but was based primarily on bottom-line marketing considerations.

Despite a five-year global hunt and millions of dollars plowed into marketing efforts, until the Chinese deal was inked, the PA had failed to snag a single private-sector tenant at Ground Zero.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/03/26/2009-03-26_freedom_out_at_wtc_port_authority_says_t.html

:rofl: