One World Trade Center signs creative new tenant

The almost-complete One World Trade Center tower in Manhattan, New York, has secured a new tenant to occupy office space across the entire of its 87^th floor.

The advertising agency KiDS Creative, part of the digital artistry business Box Studios, has put pen to paper on a deal that will see it moving into what is one of the most high-profile office developments in the world.

According to the New York Post and its sources, KiDS Creative will pay $90 per square foot to rent the office space in the heart of Manhattan where once the two towers of the original New York World Trade Center were located.

The new One World Trade Center building is the tallest in the US and the Western Hemisphere but has reportedly struggled to attract tenants in recent years. In fact, the commitment from KiDS Creative is the first new office rental deal agreed in over three years by the building’s developers, the Durst Organization and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Indeed, recent reports from the Wall Street Journal suggest that the co-owners of the site have dropped their asking prices for office space at the development due to a persistent lack of demand.

However, focusing on the positives, the Durst Organization’s leasing director Eric Engelhardt told the Post: “KiDS is ‘best in class’ in the world of digital artistry and creative design, while 1 World Trade Center is the world’s most prestigious business address.”

KiDS Creative signed a 15-year lease to rent a total of 34,775 square feet, according to Cushman & Wakefield, the leasing agent involved in the deal, which has been keen to strike a similarly positive note regarding prospects for demand at the World Trade Center site.

“The international market has identified One World Trade Center as the premiere New York City address and the best, strategic opportunity to take flagship office space for an American headquarters,” said Tara Stacom, Cushman & Wakefield’s executive vice chairman, who leads the building’s global leasing programme in cooperation with The Durst Organization. “We have ongoing requests from firms hailing from Japan, China, Germany, France, Mexico, Brazil, the UK and many others. One World Trade Center’s globally recognized address is resonating across the world.

“When companies like KiDS have ‘One World Trade Center’ on their corporate letterhead, this sends a powerful message to their target business audiences,” said Stacom. “It announces, both internally and externally, that they are committed to excellence, and that they are leaders in their industry.”

The anchor tenant of the One World Trade Center tower is the international media and publishing company Conde Nast, which has a long standing commitment to take up over 1.1 million square feet of office space between the 20^th and 44^th floors of the building. Other tenants of the New York skyscraper, which is due to open in a matter of months, will include the US General Services Administration, which will occupy over 250,000 square feet between floors 50 and 55, and the Legends Hospitality Group, which will be operating the 75,000 square feet Observatory from 2015 onward.

Despite the new World Trade Center tower being yet to reach full occupancy, the building is already among the most iconic and impressive in New York. The structure includes an enormous spire, which makes it the tallest building in the US and ensures it reaches a height of 1,776 feet in reference to the year in which America declared independence.