Condé Nast pays back rent at One WTC, ending standoff with Durst

Parent company Advance Publications agrees to pay nearly $10M after withholding rent since January

A protracted standoff between the landlords at One World Trade Center and the parent company of Condé Nast appears to have finally reached a conclusion … for now.

Advance Publications executives Steven and Donald Newhouse have agreed to pay almost $10 million in back rent owed to co-developers the Durst Organization and the Port Authority, the New York Post reported.

Advance Publications began withholding rent in January, drawing criticism from Durst Organization chairman Douglas Durst, whose firm manages the building. A media insider speculated to the Post that Advance Publications backed down due to harm being done to its reputation.

The feud became public last August, when it was reported that Conde Nast was in search of a new headquarters and wanted to leave 1 World Trade Center, despite a lease running to 2039. Condé Nast leased 21 floors at a favorable $60 per square foot beginning in 2011.

The company moved into the building three years later, in 2014. But the publisher began subleasing almost half of its floors in 2018 after downsizing staff and cutting print titles from its portfolio amid broader struggles for the glossy magazine industry.

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The publisher was reportedly eyeing a move to Midtown or even New Jersey in search of a more affordable rent bill.

As part of the ceasefire, Advance Publications will be able to cede 400,000 square feet of its space. The company’s broker, JLL, will partner with the Durst Organization to sublease the available space, with Reddit — also owned by Advance — already claiming 40,000 square feet.

[NYP] — Holden Walter-Warner