Two-thirds of the office space in 1 World Trade Center will be accounted for once 110-year-old law firm Chadbourne & Parke finalizes a deal to move downtown from its current Rockefeller Center location, the New York Times reported.
The size of the pending lease appears to be more than 300,000 square feet, if the Times is correct that two thirds of the 3 million-square-foot skyscraper would be occupied and that Conde Nast, Chinese real estate firm Vantone and the federal government would comprise a total of 1.685 million square feet.
Chadbourne and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey declined to comment, but the Times said the lease is expected to sign soon. The firm had long been reported to be interested in moving to 1 WTC. Though the firm’s attorneys, which include former Governor George Pataki, were reluctant to move downtown, the cheaper rents and government tax breaks ultimately lured the firm to 1 WTC.
“The guys at Chadbourne are used to walking to Rockefeller Center from the Upper East Side and Grand Central,” said one member of the firm. “I said we could get black cars for all these guys and still come out ahead.” [NYT]