Looks like Rupert Murdoch's vassals aren't headed to the World Trade Center after all—both 21st Century Fox and News Corp will stay in Midtown, having previously struck a deal to serve as 2 World Trade Center's anchor tenants.
The Post, which is owned by News Corp., reports that the media companies will remain at 1211 and 1185 Sixth Avenue for the next decade, after landlord Callahan Capital Properties made them a deal to extend their lease by another five years.
Though 2 WTC hasn't actually been built yet, the building is designed with News Corp in mind, thanks to Murdoch's son, James Murdoch—“The first thing James said to me is he didn’t want to build a tower,” architect Bjarke Ingels told Wired when renderings were released last June. The 80-story building, which will be the fourth and final rebuilt World Trade Center skyscraper, was supposed to house about a million square feet worth of News Corp and Fox's 5,000 or so employees.
BUT NO MORE. Post employees must continue to suffer through Midtown's lunch options, and 2 WTC has to find some new tenants. But they're hopeful! Per a statement from Larry Silverstein, whose company is developing 2 WTC:
Make no mistake: it won't be long before we find a great company to anchor 2 World Trade Center. Lower Manhattan has firmly established itself as the neighborhood of choice for the world's most dynamic technology, advertising, media, financial and other creative businesses. Downtown's momentum is palpable and unstoppable—more than 600 firms have moved to Downtown since 2005, leasing over 15 million square feet of space. We at Silverstein Properties remain 100 percent committed to successfully completing this historic rebuilding effort.
Perhaps Vice has had enough fun demolishing Williamsburg now that the L train is doomed?
