Zurich inks 132K sf lease at 4 WTC 

Insurance giant Zurich American Insurance Company signed a lease for 132,000 square feet at 4 World Trade Center.

The U.S. subsidiary of the Switzerland-based company finalized the deal spanning the 52nd through 54th floors, according to Crain’s, which first reported in May the insurer was eyeing space in the 2.3 million-square-foot building.

Zurich will relocate to the Silverstein Properties [TRDataCustom] building from its current location at Brookfield Property Partners’ One Liberty Plaza across the street, where it has about 170,000 square feet.

That’s a 23 percent reduction in its footprint.

The insurer will make the move to the 72-story tower, which is anchored by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, in 2017.

The company was among a group of nearly two dozen insurers with policies on the World Trade Center that fought tooth and nail with Silverstein over billions of dollars of payouts following the 9/11 attacks. The legal battle was settled in 2007.

Other tenants that have signed onto the building include software firm MediaMath, which inked a lease for more than 100,000 square feet, and the high-frequency trading firm Hudson River Trading.

Silverstein opened 4 World Trade Center in late 2013. The developer plans to complete 3 World Trade Center next door in 2018, and is still searching for an anchor tenant for the 2.8 million-square-foot tower 2 World Trade Center after 21st Century Fox and News Corp. scuttled an agreement earlier this year. [Crain’s] – Rich Bockmann