EPA press release on WTC cleaning hotline launch, June 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

A growing commercial business district has developed at Canary Wharf in London over the .last two decades, transforming the area from an aban­ doned dock to a thriving cluster of global financial service institutions. Similar to Lower Manhattan, the weakness of the transportation infra- structurc was one of the main obstacles to the growth of the commercial tenant base. The construction on the Jubilee subway fine, which connects,Canary Wharf to Central .London's West End in 15 minutes, proved to be a turning point in the development of the area.

Much like parts of the .Lower Manhattan shore, Canary Wharf was a cargo warehouse at the center of the Docldands district up until the mid-19608. Sea-cargo business at. the docks declined precipitously i.n the early 1970s as new technology and containerization reduced the competitiveness of the London Docklands.

The Ixjndon Docklands Development Corporation was created in 1981 to revitalize the Docklands area. The central area, representing about 10% of the total, was designated an Enterprise Zone, offering tax incentives to both investors and developers. The first major commexcial buildings were completed in 1991, but were not immediately successfill. One reason for the failure of the development was the inadequacy of the existing public transportation infrastructure coupled with the down turn .to. the global economy. Until the construction of the Jubilee .Line, Canary Wharf's public transportation system was limited to the Docklands .Light Rail, a newly constructed transit system that had limited connections with other London transit systems. To address the Docklands’problems, coiistructioa of the Jubilee line commenced in 1993.

’When construct.i.on began in 1993, the total ernp.Ioy.ment in Canary Wharf was 7,000 people. By the begin­ ning o.f2000, one year after completion of the Jubilee subway line, the number of jobs .had grown almost 300% to 27,000 and by January 2003 it totaled 5.5,000, Key financial and professional service firms relocat­ ed to Canary Wharf, with the pace of new tenants accelerating in the late 1990s.* ' *

Wlitle tlie financial market boom of the late 1990s played a key role in. the absorption of commercial space in Canary Wharf it is widely acknowledgect that the development would not have succeeded at the pace observed without the transportation enhancement provided by the Jubilee line. A total of 9 million square feet of commercial space has been completed since 1991 and another 5.5 million square .feet is under coa- stmction, of which 95% is pre-leased. . ■

Key tenants include State Street Bank (1991), Morgan Stanley (1991), Credit Suisse Rrst Boston (1994), Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &. Flom (1996), Burlington .Resources (1997), Readers .Dijytst (1997), Bank of Montreal (1998), HSBC (1998), Bank of Lew York (1998). KPMG (2O«5), Clifford Gliance (2000). McGraw-HiH (2(X»), Northern frost Bank (2a»), .Lelimaa Brothers (2000), and Barclays ' •

8 Lower .(vlaniiattaii Tfans).'iortation Strategies

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