Const.Ends on Greek Orth.Church Leveled 9/11; Greek Archdiocese Cannot Pay $78M New Cost

Construction on a Greek Orthodox Church to replace one that was crushed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks has been suspended amid rising costs and questions over how donations have been handled, the America Magazine website reports today (December 27, 2017).


The St. Nicholas National Shrine next to the World Trade Center memorial plaza in New York City was to replace a tiny church obliterated when the trade center's south tower fell in 2001.


The new church is being funded through donations, including from the Greek government, Greek Orthodox Church members around the world, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and the Italian city of Bari, whose patron saint is St. Nicholas.


The estimated cost for the new church was $50 million. But this month, the cost jumped to an estimated $78 million. Skanska -- part of Stockholm-based Skanska AB -- said it had extended payment deadlines and discussed alternatives with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to try to keep the project going, but could not reach a solution and had to halt construction.