Conde Nast in talks to move to 1 World Trade Center – Yahoo! News
Conde Nast in talks to move to 1 World Trade Center – Yahoo! News
NEW YORK (Reuters) –
Media giant Conde Nast has been in talks to relocate to One World Trade Center, the skyscraper being built by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Port on the site of the twin towers destroyed on September 11, 2001, a source familiar with the discussions said.
The move could offer a boost to the Durst Organization, which owns Conde Nast's current Times Square headquarters and is one of several developers vying to become an equity partner for One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan.
Experts said delivering such a major tenant could boost Durst's chances of edging out other potential developers, which include Boston Properties and Related Companies.
The $3 billion development, long plagued by clashes over design and security and disagreements over its funding, could also get a boost from the deal.
Conde Nast, the publisher of magazines Vogue, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, has been headquartered at 4 Times Square, also known as the Conde Nast Building, since the building opened in 1999.
Conde Nast spokeswoman Maurie Perl declined to comment. “At this time we've got nothing to say,” she said
Port Authority spokesman Stephen Sigmund also declined to comment.
The move could also help Durst win a more lucrative lease for its 48-story Times Square building, which was built prior to the development renaissance in the midtown Manhattan area.
It would be “a win for Durst who will have no problem leasing that space,” said Lawrence Longua, clinical associate professor at the New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate. “By the time One World Trade is finished, there will be a lot stronger market.”
Conde Nast has a 20-year lease on 710,000 square feet at 4 Times Square, which is due to expire in 2019, according to sources who declined to be named because the information is not public.
The publishing giant pays a below-market rent on the space, which runs from the 3rd to the 23rd floors, the source said, suggesting that Durst would be able to rent the space out for a higher price to a new tenant.
In lower Manhattan, the Port Authority has struggled to find tenants for the skyscraper, which will be the tallest building in the United States when it is finished.
Last March, the office tower, which has risen several floors above street level, was renamed One World Trade Center to make it easier to market its offices.
The building was previously called the Freedom Tower, a name that along with its 1,776-foot (541-meter) height was chosen to exemplify New York City's resurgence after the September 11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
(Editing by Leslie Adler)
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