Trade Center Tenants Seeking Space; Sublet Surplus to Vanish

NEW YORK CITY-Cushman & Wakefield president Bruce Mosler says his firm is working on behalf of “dozens” of clients to locate “several million” sf of space lost in the rubble of the World Trade Center.

In a press conference yesterday afternoon, Mosler stressed his belief that while client needs must and will be met, building owners are not about to take unfair advantage of prospective tenants who may have only narrowly escaped tragedy. “The average weighted cost of class A space is approximately $65 per sf,” Mosler says. “I don’t think you’ll see a drop. But you will not see price gouging by landlords. You will see people reach out to help one another.”

Mosler estimated “11 to 12 million sf were destroyed” in the World Trade Center attacks, not including collateral damage that may not be calculated for weeks or months. He added, “it would be erroneous to state how much” the eventual damage assessment will be.