7 WTC is expensive for Downtown, but not Midtown

German bank WestLB announced last week that it would be moving to the top three floors of 7 World Trade Center. Its rent for the 15-year lease will start at more than $70 per square foot. The $150 million aggregate rent is more than WestLB would have paid in other buildings Downtown, but is about 40 percent less than the bank would have paid in Midtown. This month, Manhattan’s commercial availability is below 10 percent, and availability in Downtown’s 85 million-square-foot market is below 8 percent.