Official familiar with negotiations: Conde Nast tentatively agrees to move to new WTC tower

AP source: Conde Nast agrees to move to WTC tower

NEW YORK — Magazine publisher Conde Nast has tentatively agreed to a deal to move from Times Square into the signature skyscraper being built at the World Trade Center site, an official familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The publishing giant would anchor the tallest tower under construction at the Sept. 11 terror attack site, a development project that has struggled for years to attract major businesses, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were not finalized.

Conde Nast did not immediately return calls seeking comment Tuesday. The privately held company publishes 18 consumer magazines, including Vogue, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, as well as trade publications and stand-alone websites. It currently anchors a 48-story headquarters in the heart of Times Square.

In a memo to employees obtained by the AP, John Bellando, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said the company was in “active discussions” with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey about a move to the skyscraper, known as 1 World Trade Center.

Bellando said a final decision was several months away and that the company would not likely move until 2014 — a year after the 1,776-foot skyscraper is set to open. But he added, “it is now highly likely that we will move from 4 Times Square, whether to 1 World Trade Center or another location.”

Conde Nast has tentatively agreed to rent 1 million square feet of the 2.6 million square feet in the tower, the official told the AP. Its landlord at 4 Times Square, the Durst Organization, is negotiating with the agency for leasing rights at the ground zero tower. The developer didn’t return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

The Port Authority said in a statement Tuesday: “There is clearly momentum both in the building of the World Trade Center site and the growing interest from potential tenants.”

The skyscraper, once called the Freedom Tower, is one of five envisioned at a rebuilt site, along with a Sept. 11 memorial, transit hub and performing arts center. After years of stalled development, steel for the tower — to become the tallest in the city — is more than 20 stories high.

Only one other tower is under construction. Government agencies will be the largest tenants by far, with the Port Authority, city and state agencies agreeing to rent separate space in the two towers. A Beijing real estate company has also rented several floors at 1 World Trade Center.

For years, negotiations with major corporations at the site came and went; Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were among the companies to enter into and back away from separate talks for space.

The tower’s name was changed last year from the Freedom Tower, a name that critics said gave the 102-story building a bigger reputation as a potential terror target.

Like other publishers, Conde Nast has been suffering through a severe decline in advertising revenue brought by the recession and competition for ad dollars online. The downturn forced it to shutter several of its titles, including Gourmet and Portfolio.

Conde Nast has been in talks to move its headquarters before, and was once slated to become an anchor tenant at a massive development planned for Manhattan’s far West side.

If the deal goes through, it will join The Daily News in a move of media giants from midtown to downtown Manhattan. The newspaper recently announced it would move next year to an office tower in the Financial District.

The New York Times first reported news of the tentative deal on Tuesday.

AP Business Writer Andrew Vanacore contributed to this report.