Larry Silverstein, the developer of the under-construction office space site, has opted to enforce a commitment made by the city authorities to rent 14 floors of the building, citing the arrangement as one of the reasons the plan was given the go-ahead in the first place.
See examples of other flexible offices for rent in New York here
Building work is set to be completed at the famous ‘ground zero’ site sometime in 2013, but the government doesn’t intend to relocate its workforce until at least a year later. Mr Silverstein was obliged to give 32 months’ notice of his intention to enforce the agreement reached with the City in 2006.
There has been some suggestion that the government is effectively having to step in to help with what is set to be an iconic development, but one that is struggling to attract private-sector occupants.
A spokesman for the Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, told the Associated Press: “The City’s commitment to take space in 2006 was one of the key steps that enabled development to move forward.”
Rental terms apparently call for the local government to pay $56.50 per square foot of office space at the site, which will be at least three-quarters full shortly after completion, thanks in part to another occupancy deal involving the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Mayor Bloomberg is a leading figure at the media services organisation that bears his name and recently announced plans to lease around 200,000 square feet of Manhattan office space, in addition to the millions of square feet it already occupies.
Editor’s notes: One World Trade Center opened in November 2014 with the State of New York in place as a tenant renting 415,000 square feet on a 15-year lease.
Other deals agreed within the building included those with Beijing-based Vantone Industrial and with Conde Nast Publications, which agreed to rent 1 million square feet of office space in August 2010.
In 2022, JLL reported that gross effective rental rates for prime office space in Downtown Manhattan reached $102 per square foot per year.
There are flexible office spaces and workspace options available in One World Trade Centre, operated by office providers Durst Ready and Servcorp, as well as leased office spaces to rent.
These provide shorter-term, lower-commitment office space solutions, such as private offices, managed suites, and coworking lounges, that offer all-inclusive rental terms with fixed overheads.
In June 2026, it was reported that the global financial services firm Ameriprise Financial had renewed its 38,000-square-foot lease at the property.
The property was already 97 per cent let at the time of the deal.
At the end of the first quarter of 2026, Downtown trophy rents were quoted at $90.90 per square foot.