FINANCIAL DISTRICT — Soaring One World Trade Center finally opened Monday, more than 13 years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with media company Conde Nast as the tower's first tenant.
The Western Hemisphere’s tallest skyscraper, and the pinnacle of the sprawling World Trade Center site, became home to about 175 of the magazine publisher's employees, who'll take up about five floors. Eventually, the publishing giant’s full 3,400-person staff will occupy floors 20 through 44 in the 1,776-foot building.
“The New York City skyline is whole again, as One World Trade Center takes its place in Lower Manhattan,” said Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority, which owns the tower and the entire 16-acre WTC site, at a small press conference Monday to commemorate the opening of the long-awaited building.
Chad Pierce, 30, who works in IT for Conde Nast, was one of the employees heading into the tower Monday morning.
“I’m very proud and excited to be coming to work this morning,” Pierce said. “This is an important building, an important site — I think it's safe, and I think it’s an incredible place to work.”
Foye said the Port Authority was "confident in the safety" of the 104-story tower.
In the spring, the building's Observatory, on the 100th, 101st and 102nd floors, will open to the public, offering views from 1,250 feet in the air.
The $3.9 billion building is now 60 percent leased, with future tenants including real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield and retail giant Westfield, which is developing the shops at the World Trade Center site as well as at the Fulton Center transit hub.