Based on the current agreement, the GSA and the Port Authority would modify a former contract that arose as far back as 1970. Minutes show that the Port Authority and the GSA entered into an agreement for the construction of the approximately 750,000-square-foot US Customs House Building (aka, Six World Trade Center) and for the letting of the building by the GSA, for an initial 20-year term and 16, 5-year renewal options. The current term of the Six World Trade Center lease extends through December 31, 2013, and in the aftermath of 9/11, the GSA waived its right to have the Six World Trade Center building rebuilt on its original site in exchange for the replacement of that space with a new leasehold at One World Trade Center. The current GSA lease represents the agreement upon replacement space, the Port says.

While the GSA lease would bring the building to half-full, at the same time, its some 300,000-square-foot agreement is less than originally expected. In 2006, the Port Authority entered into a memorandum of understanding with the GSA “for its occupancy of approximately 645,000 rentable square feet in the Freedom Tower,” according to minutes from the Port’s Feb. 22, 2007 meeting.

Sources close to the deal say the reduction from the original amount of space anticipated is the result of the GSA reevaluating its space needs in New York City. In addition, the people said that the federal agency is also reducing its overall national space footprint and increasing the efficiency of its existing real estate needs.

The vote comes two months after US Senator Chuck Schumer urged the GSA to “sign on the dotted line” despite the controversy surrounding the agency. The tower is expected to be completed by 2013.