“Condé Nast’s arrival puts a stiletto in the heart of the outdated notion that Lower Manhattan is stuffy and gray,” said Jessica Lappin, president of the Downtown Alliance, a local business organization. “They will accelerate the transformation that’s well underway and create additional demand-side pressure for more cool restaurants, art galleries and bars.” — nytimes.com
Thirteen years after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, and a fair share of construction delays, 1 World Trade Center is open for business. While the tower's 102 floors are currently only 58% occupied, mostly by media giant Condé Nast (of Vanity Fair, Vogue, The New Yorker, and Bon Appétit, to name a few), so much has changed in Lower Manhattan since construction on the tower began that attracting new tenants doesn't seem like it'll be much of a problem. The New York Times points out that the neighborhood's population has exploded to 61,000, as investment banks left, and luxury retailers, media companies and tech firms moved in.
Fifteen years ago, when Condé Nast first moved to their former space in Times Square, the area's tone shifted: "Condé Nast's move from Madison Avenue in 1999 served as an imprimatur that Times Square was finally safe for white-collar workers. Soon came the lawyers, accountants, bankers and others who had avoided the seedy environ." Developer Douglas Durst, who co-owns 1 World Trade Center along with the Port Authority, foresees a similar transformation around the company's new digs.
Previously: Office Rents Cut at One World Trade Due to Tenant Shortage and One World Trade Center: how New York tried to rebuild its soul
2 Comments
is "Condé Nast" truly considered a harbinger of Cool? Or more jumping the shark aka "safe for white-collar workers"?
Was lower Manhattan ever a "seedy environ" that would frighten our sensitive accountants, lawyers, and bankers? Durst's statement seems strangely blind to the difference between gentrification and mere rebuilding. I imagine any reluctance to move there has more to do with the inconvenience and distaste for working in the midst of a massive construction site with an aura of tragedy.
Anyway, this building is well suited to stuffy and gray regardless what large media conglomerates locate there. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
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