Newport Tower (Jersey City) World Financial Center in Manhattan. The Newport Tower is a modern-style building. It is similar in appearance to the world-famous Willis Tower, (formerly known as "Sears Tower") in Chicago, Illinois. The tower received a facelift in the summer of 2005; wooden panels have been installed on the lobby walls, and LCD advertisement screens added to the elevators. The colonnade in front of the building has been removed in July 2008. A new elevator management system, Schindler ID, was installed in the building in September 2009. On October 19, 2011, Multi-Employer Property Trust purchased the Newport Tower from Brookfield Properties for
Willis Tower unfinished World Trade Center to become the world's tallest building. The height was restricted by a limit imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to protect air traffic. The financing of the tower was provided by the Sears company. It was topped with two antennas to permit local television and radio broadcasts. Sears and the City of Chicago approved the design, and the first steel was put in place in April 1971. The structure was completed in May 1973. The construction cost about US$150 million at the time, equivalent to $ million in 2019. By comparison, Taipei 101, built in