Construction halted at church destroyed in Sept. 11 attacks

Construction on a Greek Orthodox church to replace one that was crushed in the Sept. 11 attacks has been temporarily suspended amid rising costs and questions over how donations have been managed.

The St. Nicholas National Shrine next to the World Trade Center memorial plaza was to replace a tiny church that was obliterated by the trade center’s south tower.

The new building was designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, who also created the soaring white bird-like mall and transit hub nearby called the Oculus.

But unlike the transit hub, built largely with federal transportation dollars, the 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.

In September, the estimated cost was $50 million. But according to The New York Times , which first reported the work suspension, the cost had jumped to an estimated $72 million to $78 million as of earlier this month.

Two firms, Pricewaterhouse-Coopers and Baker-Hostetler, had been hired to perform an independent investigation into the construction, according to a Dec. 9 statement posted on the website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

The stoppage was ordered by the construction company on the project, Skansa, according to the statement.

“The archdiocese is confidently hopeful that construction will recommence in the very near future and has been assured by Skanska ... that they are looking forward to the rescinding of this temporary suspension to continue working together in cooperation with the archdiocese for the completion of the building project,” the statement read.

Skansa didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

The Greek Orthodox archdiocese, based in New York, represents more than 500 parishes across the country with more than 1.5 million members of the church and 800 priests. It reported last fall that it was suffering from a “severe and complex” financial deficit.