Pete Karamitsanis of Tampa is the owner representative for the rebuilding of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and Shrine at Ground Zero. He flies to New York City once a week to oversee its construction, which should be complete by Easter 2022. Photos from MEFMedia
For six years now, Tampa resident Pete Karamitsanis has traveled to Ground Zero in New York City weekly to oversee the resurrection of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine.
And he’s become a world traveler, visiting Greece, Austria, Spain, New Zealand and other locations as the owner’s representative for the church, whose original version was destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, the day terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center.
The church and shrine are expected to be completed in time for Easter 2022. “The outside is 80% complete and the inside is about 45% complete already,” said Karamitsanis, noting that $45 million of the $98 million project has been donated since January. “It has gained a lot of support, community support,” he said.
“It’s been very exciting and also very tiring,” traveling the globe to oversee creation of the solid marble pieces coming from the same quarry as the marble used to build the Parthenon, then on to Germany, Austria and Spain as the glass and marble are shaped, stained and shipped.
His job as owner’s representative is to oversee many aspects of the project including construction, bids, budgeting, timeliness, and completion.
The Project, profiled on 60 Minutes last year, is a labor of love for those in the Greek Orthodox community, who vowed to raise the church again, despite the financial and other obstacles.
