Construction resumed in mid-1972, and Pennsylvania Avenue was closed to accommodate construction. Workers started constructing towers at the south end of the site by the Belt Parkway, in an effort to attract potential tenants who were exiting from the Belt Parkway. This added one million dollars to the cost of construction, since utilities had been laid at the north end. The initial work included the filling of the swampland with sand from Jamaica Bay, and the construction of the power plant. In 1973, a contract was awarded to the Otis Elevator Company to install 100 elevators in the complex. That year, real estate developer Fred Trump acquired a 20 percent interest in the development. The Starrett Associates invested $22 million into the construction of the complex, while the remaining $360 million was covered by state housing loans under the Mitchell-Lama program.