U.S. Division of Swiss Insurance Giant Headed for 4 WTC

By Terence Cullen | Commercial Observer

Zurich American Insurance Company, the United States division of the Switzerland-based Zurich Insurance Group, has signed a deal to move into 4 World Trade Center, landlord Silverstein Properties announced today.

The insurance firm will occupy 132,000 square feet on the 52nd through 54th floors of the 2.3-million-square-foot skyscraper, according to a press release from the landlord. Zurich American will move its New York headquarters into the new offices in summer 2017.

The company’s employees won’t have to alter their commutes, because the firm is currently based across the street at Brookfield Property Partners’ One Liberty Plaza—a full block building on Liberty Street between Church Street and Broadway. Zurich American will be downsizing its physical space by about 23 percent when it relocates, according to Crain’s New York Business, which first reported news of the deal.

“New York City is a global insurance hub, and the entire metro area is a large and important market for Zurich,” Ed Lopes, an executive at the company, said in a statement. “This new location ensures that we retain our key talent and also remain in close proximity to our customers and brokers. We’re thrilled to stay Downtown in one of the most exciting, vibrant and accessible neighborhoods in the world.”

Asking rent at the tower has been in the mid-$80s per square foot, as Commercial Observer has previously reported. Jeremy Moss, the head of World Trade Center leasing for Silverstein, represented the landlord in-house along with CBRE’s Mary Ann Tighe, Steven Siegel, Ken Meyerson, Adam Foster, Steve Eynon, Evan Haskell, Robert Hill and David Caperna. Martin Horner and Robert Romano of JLL represented the tenant.

“I am delighted to welcome Zurich to 4 World Trade Center,” Larry Silverstein, the chairman of Silverstein Properties, said in prepared remarks. “Leading companies continue to be attracted to the World Trade Center for its top quality office space, unequalled mass transit and location at the center of the world’s most dynamic live-work community.”

In May, Hudson River Trading signed a 69,000-square-foot deal for two floors, as CO reported at the time. The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey and the City of New York anchor the building, and PadillaCRT, MediaMath and SNY have also signed leases at the structure.