Spotify Claims Big Spot at 4 WTC

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

New York—Spotify USA just took a big bite out of the tenant roster at 4 World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. The music streaming service recently signed a 387,200-square-foot office lease with Silverstein Properties Inc., owner of the 2.3 million-square-foot skyscraper, in a move that brings the building’s lease level to 100 percent.

4 World Trade Center

Relocation, relocation, relocation. “Spotify sought a new, first-class building that could provide the firm with ample room to consolidate its New York operations and further expand its thriving business,” Peter Riguardi, chairman & president of commercial real estate services firm JLL’s New York operations, said in a prepared statement. JLL represented Spotify in the lease transaction, while commercial real estate services firm CBRE Inc. stood in for Silverstein. Leaving behind its current digs at 620 Ave. of the Americas in Midtown South and other locations in the city, Spotify will bring more than 800 employees to its new headquarters at 4 WTC and still have substantial elbowroom for the 1,000 new jobs it plans to create as part of its growth plan.

New build, first-class, available space—4 WTC ticked all the boxes for Spotify, and then some. The 72-story high-rise opened its doors in 2013 as the first tower to reach completion at the 16-acre World Trade Center complex. Designed by Fumihiko Maki of architectural firm Maki and Associates, the LEED Gold-certified office building also features a podium with street-level retail space, as well as two additional above-grade levels and two below-grade floors of retail square footage. Spotify will occupy its office space under a 15-year lease.

“This major commitment by a pioneer of the digital economy is further proof that Lower Manhattan has become the top destination for New York’s most innovative companies,” Larry Silverstein, chairman of Silverstein Properties Inc., said in prepared remarks. “No other neighborhood can beat our mix of mass transit connections, apartments, restaurants, shops and culture.”

Spotify should feel right at home at 4 WTC. The company’s list of tech-related neighbors will include MediaMath, which occupies 106,000 square feet, and fintech pioneer Hudson River Trading, which inked a 69,000-square-foot lease in May 2016. As noted in a fourth quarter report by the Alliance for Downtown New York, “Tenants in [TAMI] sectors continue to view Lower Manhattan as a strong location to build their creative businesses and access their clients and partners.”

4WTC has a lot to offer for an expanding tech company—but so do other premier properties outside New York. New York State campaigned for Spotify to stay put, enticing the company with $11 million in rent credits through the World Trade Center Rent Reduction Program, operated by New York State’s economic development arm, Empire State Development. The digital music service will make its move to 4 WTC in early 2018.