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Port Authority expected to tap Legends to run WTC observation deck

Observatory expected to bring in $875 million over 15 years

From left: 1 WTC and Legends CEO David Checketts
From left: 1 WTC and Legends CEO David Checketts

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is slated to strike a 15-year deal with Legends Hospitality Management to operate 1 World Trade Center’s observation deck, the New York Times reported. This deal is the newest sign that the 1,776-foot-high building is approaching the finish line.

The three-story observation deck could rake in $875 million during the 15 years of the deal, the Times said, and the company has committed annual rent payments and a percentage of revenues to the Port Authority.

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Legends does not have experience running observation decks. However, Legends does run luxury boxes for the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys. The group has also tapped the Hettema Group’s Phil Hettema, who has developed theme park attractions, to design the deck, which will cost roughly $62 million.

Legends beat other groups to run the space, including Montparnasse 56 USA, which is affiliated with a French group that operates observatories in Paris, Berlin and Chicago.

As previously reported, the material for the tower’s spire arrived in the city in December. [NYT]Zachary Kussin

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