By KEIKO MORRIS | Wall Street Journal
Six weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Westfield Group bought a 99-year lease for the retail portion at the World Trade Center.
Now, as the once-shattered site re-emerges, the international mall giant says about 80% of the 150 retail brands that will fill the newly built complex have signed leases or have leases out for signing.
By the time the $1.4 billion project opens next year, Westfield expects the roster of retailers to be filled.
"We only have 365,000 square feet of space," said Peter Lowy, co-chief executive of Westfield Group. "We could have leased it three or four times over."
Westfield's development, which is built into the site's new transportation hub, is reaching for more than 200,000 expected daily commuters along with tourists and a growing number of people living in lower Manhattan.
Unlike Brookfield Place's high-end retail redevelopment across the street, Westfield World Trade Center must aim for broad appeal, industry experts said.
"We really were trying to get the best brands, the most relevant and most productive, given the consumer we have down there," said Greg Miles, Westfield's chief operating officer in the U.S. "It's really important for us to have a mix to satisfy broad constituents."
So far, the complex has attracted several marquee brands. Turnbull & Asser, the British men's shirtmaker and clothier that has dressed many a James Bond star, and designer-shoe brand Stuart Weitzman, have signed on. Both will have shops within the new Santiago Calatrava-designed Oculus, which soars above the hub's central corridor.
Apple Inc., Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., Kate Spade New York, The Kooples, MAC and Bobbi Brown also are among retailers in advanced discussions for leases, according to people familiar with the talks.
Eataly, the company behind the gourmet Italian food and wine marketplace in the Flatiron District, said it was seriously considering the space, though nothing was official yet. Read more.
