State and federal agencies have agreed to lease over 1 million square feet in the Freedom Tower

Governor George Pataki, Governor Jon Corzine, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg this week announced lease agreements by state and federal government tenants for office space in the World Trade Center's Freedom Tower totaling a combined one million square feet.

The State of New York, through the Office of General Services, has reached an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on the terms of a 15-year lease for 415,000 square feet of office space in the Freedom Tower. The terms of the deal allow the state to extend its lease up to 50 years and to occupy as much as 1 million square feet of space in the future.  

The U.S. General Services Administration, meanwhile, has executed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Port Authority that will place U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal agencies in an additional 600,000 square feet of space in the tower.

"I am proud to announce the state and federal government are moving forward with space commitments at the Freedom Tower," Pataki said in statement announcing the lease agreements. "Our collective vision for a rebuilt World Trade Center continues to be realized. We will secure the future of the plan we together created and ensure downtown's future as the financial capital of the world."

Bloomberg, too, praised the lease agreements, pointing to them as indications that downtown's revitalization is well underway. "With today's announcement, we are another significant step closer to our goal of restoring the World Trade Center site as a hub of commerce in Lower Manhattan," he said in a statement. "When completed, the World Trade Center site -- with  its beautiful memorial and a series of towers designed  by some of the world's best architects -- will not only serve as a fitting tribute to those we have lost, but provide a brighter future for our city," he continued.

According to the agreements reached, both government agencies will pay approximately $59 per square foot to rent space in the Freedom Tower. Construction of the building's foundation began in April of this year. The tower is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in 2011.