the project. Foster said that the board felt that, "If we don't do anything, [the terrorists] have won". However, as a result of the attacks, Foster and Hearst decided to restrict visitor access to part of the atrium and relocate the tower's core away from the street. Other parts of the design were also reviewed, but the glass facade was retained. Foster's team ultimately designed more than one hundred plans for the tower. Foster filed plans for the construction of the Hearst Tower that October, and the LPC approved the tower one month later. Hearst had consulted with the community to allay any concerns and opposition, so the approval took a relatively short three hours. The only major opponent was the Historic Districts Council, whose executive director said the tower "does not respond to, respect, or even speak to its landmark base". The Hearst Tower was the first major skyscraper in Manhattan to be built after the September 11 attacks. Prior to the start of construction, Good Housekeeping moved to another Hearst Corporation structure, and two thousand employees were relocated. Work on the Hearst Tower started on April 30, 2003. The Hearst Magazine Building's interior was demolished during mid-2003. The original framework was left intact until new steel beams were installed, while the landmark facade was preserved and cleaned for $6 million. Steel construction began in March 2004. The floor slabs were erected at an average rate of one floor every four days, while the curtain wall was installed at a rate of one floor every six days. The Hearst Tower topped out on February 10, 2005. Although the first employees moved into the tower in the last week of June 2006, it was not officially completed until that October. In total, the Hearst Tower had cost $500 million. Shortly after completion, the Hearst Tower became the first New York City building to receive a LEED Gold certification for its overall design. Because of the building's environmental features, its operating costs were 25 percent lower than in a typical skyscraper of the same size. The LEED certification was upgraded to Platinum in 2012. Reception Prior to the Hearst Tower's construction, the Hearst Magazine Building was regarded as an indication of unexecuted plans. One witness, writing to the LPC in 1982, said that the structure was designed "an unusual style, by an unusual [and unusually talented] designer". Architectural writer Eric Nash