It is administered by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and has been developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, based upon the design of Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

[4][5] In addition to serving as a Greek Orthodox parish, St. Nicholas acts as a "House of Prayer for all people" that functions as a national shrine and community center, incorporating a secular bereavement space, social hall, and various educational and interfaith programs.

[16] It was notable for its small size, unusual location, and juxtaposition with the large modern skyscrapers in the area—all other adjacent buildings had been demolished,[17] leaving the church surrounded on three sides by a parking lot.

[19] The building was completely destroyed when the South Tower of the original World Trade Center collapsed, after being struck by United Airlines Flight 175 during the September 11 attacks.

In July 2010, George Demos, a former SEC attorney and Republican Congressional candidate, first brought the failure to rebuild St. Nicholas Church into the national debate.

Demos said that the executive director of the Port Authority, Chris Ward, had not made rebuilding St. Nicholas church a top priority.

On February 14, 2011, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America filed a $20 million lawsuit against the Port Authority pursuant to Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C.

[42][43] As a result of settlement discussions mediated by the Governor of New York's office, the Port Authority and Archdiocese agreed to an independent engineering study to determine the feasibility of siting the Church at various locations in Liberty Park.

[46] The Port Authority estimated that it would spend about $25 million to construct the platform on which St. Nicholas will sit and provide the necessary utility hookups,[46] while the church would pay for anything built above ground.

[49] Archbishop Demetrios stated that "our pledge is to be a witness for all New Yorkers, that freedom of conscience and the fundamental human right of free religious expression will always shine forth in the resurrected St. Nicholas Church.

"[49] Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava was awarded the task of designing the new St. Nicholas; he has referred to the church as a "human-scaled presence in an ensemble of giants.

[50] According to Calatrava, who consulted Archbishop Demetrios with regard to the liturgical and iconographical requirements of the interior, the church would be built of steel and concrete, but the exterior would be clad in stone[51] using a double-wall construction method.

While the layout of the interior follows a traditional Greek Orthodox pattern, St. Nicholas functions as an open, pluralistic communal gathering space accessible to the public on a regular basis, in addition to its role as a place of worship.

[33] The ground blessing ceremony and symbolic laying of the cornerstone took place on October 18, 2014, attended by government and church leaders, with construction expected to be completed within two years.

[55] In 2015, AHEPA chapters from across the country launched fundraising efforts hoping to raise at least $500,000 over the following two years toward the estimated $38 million project, combining contributions with private gifts and donations from the 525 parishes within the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

[67] In July 2018 the Archdiocese closed a deal with Alma Bank for a 10-year, $5.5-million mortgage to restore monies to the unfinished St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at Liberty Park, however the fresh funding was not expected to be enough to complete the project, whose cost had ballooned to $80 million.

Rather, the cost overruns appear to have been the result of change orders agreed to by Archdiocese decision-makers to address architectural concerns or enhance the design of SNCNS.

[69] In April 2019, reports from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office said that he had assembled a team of seven millionaire and billionaire donors committed to putting up the money to complete the project.

The consecrated altar was signed by all of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese hierarchs who were present, as well as by the two living former Archbishops of America — Spyridon Papageorge and Demetrios Trakatellis, including Protopresbyter Alexander Karloutsos, together with Metropolitan Emmanuel Adamakis (el) of Chalcedon and Metropolitan Prodromos Xenakes (el) of Rethymnon, Crete, who were representing the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

[10][83] Architecture critic Justin Davidson wrote for Curbed that the new church was "a refined pocket project", especially as compared with the much larger World Trade Center Transportation Hub, also designed by Santiago Calatrava.

[84] Davidson said, "The dense white nugget of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church presides over the memorial plaza from a raised platform at the southern end, and it suggests that maybe Calatrava was always a religious architect disguised as a transportation engineer.