Morningstar To Move New York Office To 4 World Trade Center

NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Silverstein Properties announced today that leading independent investment research provider Morningstar, Inc. has signed a 10-year, 30,000 square foot lease at 4 World Trade Center. The company expects to move to the 48th floor of 4 World Trade Center in mid-2015.

"The new World Trade Center is open and great companies want to be here," said Larry A. Silverstein, Chairman of Silverstein Properties Inc. "After all the years of planning and building, the future has finally arrived at the World Trade Center, just as Lower Manhattan is reaching its full potential as the world's most dynamic and modern live/work community."

"We're excited to expand our footprint in New York by leasing space in such a beautiful building," said Joe Mansueto, chairman and CEO of Morningstar. "We conducted an extensive search, and we love the building's design. Moving Downtown allows us to double our capacity for staff in New York. We'll design it like other Morningstar offices around the globe, with an open environment that reflects our culture and our commitment to transparency and collaboration. We look forward to hosting clients in our new space next year." 

"Morningstar's decision to move to 4 WTC is part of a trend of smart, creative and growing companies moving Downtown," said Janno Lieber, President of World Trade Center Properties. "These firms want to be in new, high-tech, green buildings right next to the best mass transit in the city and ultra-convenient to the Brooklyn Lower Manhattan and New Jersey neighborhoods where young talent is choosing to live. That's why more than five million square feet of office space has already been leased in the new WTC."

Lease negotiations for Morningstar were handled by a CBRE team headed by Michael Liss. Jeremy Moss, Director of World Trade Center Leasing for Silverstein Properties, led the negotiations for the landlord, together with the CBRE agency team including Steve Siegel, Mary Ann Tighe, Adam Foster, Steve Eynon, Evan Haskell, Ken Meyerson and David Caperna.

According to the Downtown Alliance, 511 firms have moved to Lower Manhattan since 2005, leasing a total of 12.3 million square feet (1.14 million square meters). 226 of those companies have been in creative or professional services, taking 51 percent of the space leased.

In its 2013 report, "Brain Gain," the Downtown Alliance explained, "The high-value knowledge workers who drive the region's economy – the people companies want to hire – increasingly live within a 30-minute commute of Lower Manhattan. Extensive residential development and dramatic neighborhood revitalization in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey's Hudson River wa­terfront cities have attracted huge numbers of young, educated people, workers in the professional and creative fields that drive leasing in New York City – who prefer apartment living and shorter commutes via sub­way, PATH, ferry, bike and foot to suburban life and lengthy commutes via heavy rail or car."

"More than 500 companies have relocated to Lower Manhattan over the past several years," said Alliance for Downtown New York President Jessica Lappin. "Lower Manhattan's pull on firms in the world of finance and media shows no sign of weakening. We're thrilled to have Morningstar in our diverse and dynamic business district."

About 4 World Trade Center
Designed by Pritzker-prize winning architect Fumihiko Maki to meet a LEED Gold standard of sustainability, 4 WTC is a model of transparency and efficiency.

The 977 foot (298 meter) building contains 2.3 million square feet (213,680 square meters) of light-filled, green and high-tech office space spread over 56 office floors. In addition to Morningstar, other tenants in the building include MediaMath (106,000 square feet / 9,850 square meters), the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (520,000 square feet / 48,310 square meters) and the City of New York (600,000 square feet / 55,742 square meters).

4 WTC was designed to enliven and seamlessly integrate into Downtown's streetscape, with a major concentration of retail – both at the street-level and in underground pedestrian concourses that lead directly to 11 subway lines and the PATH trains. 400,000 square feet of destination retail will open in tandem with the World Trade Center Transit Hub in 2015.

For more information and regular updates on 4 World Trade Center, please visit 4WTC.com and follow 4WTC on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. 

About Morningstar, Inc.
Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors. Morningstar provides data on approximately 473,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 12 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries and had approximately $169 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2014. The company has operations in 27 countries.

About Silverstein Properties
Silverstein Properties, Inc. (SPI) is a privately held, full-service real estate development, investment and management firm based in New York. Founded in 1957 by Chairman Larry Silverstein, the company develops and acquires office, residential, hotel and retail properties. SPI has developed, owned and managed more than 35 million square feet (3.25 million square meters) of commercial, residential and retail space, including 7 World Trade Center, the first LEED-certified office tower in New York City, which opened in 2006 and 4 World Trade Center which opened in November 2013. 

Currently, the firm has $10 billion of development underway: Four Seasons Resort at Walt Disney World, Four Seasons Downtown New York Hotel and Private Luxury Residences and 2 and 3 World Trade Center. In addition, SPI is focused on joint ventures for development and acquisitions in Europe, Asia and Israel. The company has been recognized as one of the "Best Places to Work in New York City" by Crain's New York Business for the past six years.

For further information on Silverstein Properties, please visit www.silversteinproperties.com or http://www.wtc.com.

SOURCE Silverstein Properties