WTC gets Chinese tenant

The Freedom Tower has gotten its first private-sector tenant, a Chinese real estate company. The Beijing Vantone Real Estate Company has signed a nonbinding lease and plans to build the China Center, a commerce and cultural center, on floors 64 to 69. Federal and state governments have agreed to lease 1 million square feet at the tower, which is rising at the southeast corner of West and Vesey Streets. The Partnership for New York City, a business policy and advocacy group, will invest up to $5 million in the $90 million project, which will create a 189,000-square-foot space. Vantone’s annual rent will start at about $80 per square foot. Some observers have cast doubt on Vantone’s future at the tower because its deals to lease at Larry Silverstein’s 7 World Trade Center and at 195 Broadway collapsed over the past few years.