Last month

Representatives from Silverstein Properties and Moody's offered no comment on the pending deal. Earlier this year, Beijing Vantone Real Estate Co agreed to the basic terms of a lease for at least 200,000 sf to establish a China Center at the 1.7-million-sf site. American Express spin off Ameriprise Financial signed a 10-year lease for approximately 20,000 sf, which represents half of the 39th floor. The New York Academy of Sciences was first tenant to take space when it signed a 15-year, 40,000-sf lease for the entire 40th floor.

According to a source, asking rents at the site range from $50 per sf to $55 per sf, depending upon the floor number. When coupled with incentives, the rents are brought down into the $40s. One industry insider tells GlobeSt.com that since mid-April there has been "a lot of activity" at the site and Lower Manhattan in general. "Potential tenants are looking."

Eric Deutsch, president of the Downtown Alliance, says the deal, if completed, would be a "huge boost" for Lower Manhattan. "It shows that another financial firm wants to stay here."