 Construction of the new 7 World Trade Center began on May 7 , 2002 , with the installation of a fence around the construction site . Tishman Construction Corporation of New York began work at the new 7 World Trade Center in 2002 , soon after the site was cleared of debris . Restoring the Con Ed electrical substation was an urgent priority to meet power demands of Lower Manhattan . Because 7 World Trade Center is separate from the main 16 @-@ acre ( 6 @.@ 5 ha ) World Trade Center site , Larry Silverstein required approval from only the Port Authority , and rebuilding was able to proceed quickly . Building Seven was not included in the original World Trade Center master plan by Daniel Libeskind , but was designed by Skidmore , Owings & Merrill under the leadership of David Childs , who largely redesigned One World Trade Center . 
