The One World Trade Center welcomed a new tenant - KiDS Creative, an advertising agency - which has taken up the entire 87th floor of the famous building.
The deal comes after three years of nil leasing activity in the tower. Sources told The New York Post that the deal was done at $90 per square feet and the company agreed to lease about 35,000 square feet. This is the highest ever rent paid in downtown New York City, beating $70 per square feet at 7 World Trade Center and other affluent office towers.
"This particular tenancy represents just the kind of creative user with a global presence that we're seeking," said Tara Stacom of Cushman and Wakefield, the leasing agent for 1 WTC, to the Post.
News of the new tenancy comes just after Douglas Durst, owner of WTC, told The Wall Street Journal that demand for space in the tower was weak and they had to reduce rents by 10 percent to market space in the building.
Last week, it was reported that Hugo Boss - the fashion brand - was looking to move its Big Apple headquarters to the building. However, a source close to Hugo Boss told the Commercial Observer that the deal wasn't happening "anytime soon" and the reports doing the rounds are largely exaggerated.
More recently, China Center NYC - a private sector tenant announced that it was cutting down its committed leasing space to 100,000 square feet on the 88th, 89th and 90th floors of the building, reports The Real Deal. One World Trade Center has many prestigious tenants like Conde Nast, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.
Demand for office space in the area should gradually improve as a large number of media and tech companies are moving their office downtown. The Post notes that the exodus started off with Conde Nast moving away and continues with many media moguls like the National Enquirer and Daily News relocating to Water Street after hurricane Sandy.
Time Inc., the publisher of "TIME" and "People," recently announced that it will be moving its headquarters from the Rockefeller Center to lower Manhattan after having occupied the "Time & Life" building for 50 long years.
"Lower Manhattan has become a new destination for creative businesses," said Joe Ripp, chairman and CEO of Time Inc., in a statement.
