NEW YORK CITY-Following the flurry of excitement generated by Conde Nast’s landmark one-million-square-foot deal at One World Trade Center on Wednesday afternoon, CB Richard Ellis’ New York tri-state CEO Mary Ann Tighe and vice chairman Gregory Tosko agreed that the relocation would transform Lower Manhattan into a live/work powerhouse. “I have been a believer for a long time that downtown has been undergoing a transformation that makes it one of the most desirable places to work in the city, and perhaps in the country,” Tighe tells GlobeSt.com, during a media phone conference after the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey okay'd the lease, in a joint venture with the Durst Organization. CBRE represented Conde Nast in the deal.

“You need somebody to go first, and one of the great lessons of Conde is that they pride themselves on being a forward-looking company,” she says. “It is part of who they are and one of the most important elements of their culture, and they apply that culture to their real estate as well.”

The luxury publisher will relocate from its current headquarters in Midtown and will occupy floors 20-41, approximately one-third of One World Trade. The Port Authority will take responsibility for Conde’s existing lease at 4 Times Square, which expires in 2019. But finding a new tenant looking to pay higher prices will not be seen as a challenge, Tighe says. “It is not a great risk to take this rent on, and the Durst Organization would be mighty happy to get bigger rents on a long-term deal from someone else,” she says. Durst’s 10% share in One World Trade Center was also approved today, she added.