According to a spokesperson, BofA does not disclose the financial terms of the lease. Over time, the bank expects to fully occupy the entire space lease, but it won't be 100% occupied at the move-in date, as they want to leave some room for growth. The bank's new lease covers 13 floors. Douglas Durst, co-president of the Durst Organization, previously expressed confidence in the lease up program for the site. "I don't think we'll have any trouble getting $100 per sf at the top of the building. By the time we finish, we'll have most of the space leased."

The crystalline tower, which is expected to be completed in February 2008 at a cost of $1 billion, will house the bank's associates from several businesses including global corporate and investment banking, global wealth and investment management and global consumer and small business banking. The need for additional space is the anticipated growth of the global corporate and investment banking groups.

The bank will have floors 2 through 36 and 51, the top floor. Included in that space will be six trading floors ranging in size from 43,000 to 99,000 sf. Bank of America was represented by Jones Lang LaSalle. The brokers were Peter Riguardi, president of the New York office and John Ryan III, executive vice president, also with the company's New York office. Attorneys for Bank of America were Skadden Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. One Bryant Park LLC was repped by the Durst Organization and the law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP.

The tower is the first high-rise office building in the world to strive for the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design Platinum designation. The site will also house the reconstructed Henry Miller Theater, new subway entrances and an underground pedestrian walkway between the Sixth and Seventh Ave. subways lines.

Bank of America is providing financing for the construction and permanent loans. The project is also receiving $650 million in Liberty Bond financing. The city will provide other incentives of up to $38.5 million in sale and real estate tax benefits and another $3.5 million in energy benefits over 25 years. Bank of America plans to consolidate the majority of its 2,995 employees from five locations in Manhattan in the new building and projects the creation of more than 2,800 jobs over the term of the deal.

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