Silverstein Unveils the City’s Largest Office Terrace at 3 WTC
By Rebecca Baird-Remba August 7, 2019 1:08 pm
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The World Trade Center office towers are attached to a massive retail complex and 10 different subway lines, but developer Silverstein Properties realized that the sprawling campus lacked one major amenity: outdoor space reserved for office tenants.
So, Silverstein turned a setback on the 17th floor of 3 World Trade Center into a massive outdoor terrace for tenants of the 2.2-million-square-foot building. The 200-foot-tall terrace spans 11,000 square feet, making it the largest office terrace in the city — at least according to its developer. Only half of the terrace, roughly 5,500 square feet, is open to tenants at large. The other half is reserved for GroupM, which, with 700,000 square feet of office space across 15 floors, is essentially 3 World Trade’s anchor tenant.
Last year, high-frequency trading firm Hudson River Trading created a private terrace for its new offices at 4 World Trade Center. Then, Jeremy Moss, Silverstein’s leasing director, decided the company could convert a setback that was reserved for mechanical equipment at 3 World Trade into amenity space for workers. He noted that most of the World Trade Center buildings were designed a decade ago, when most architects and commercial landlords weren’t thinking about how to compete in today’s market of highly amenitized office buildings with full gyms, roof decks, game rooms and coffee bars. Luckily, 3 World Trade had an outdoor area that was originally created for its large, automatic window-washing rig.
“We realized it was a big advantage for companies to be able to offer their employees passive recreation space … to have meetings and sit,” Moss explained during a tour of the terrace last month. “This is something that lets you stay within the building, get some fresh air and some vitamin D.”
The firm led by Larry Silverstein has added a wall of topiary and ferns around the edge of the terrace, as well as wooden benches and red tables and chairs. All the seating can be easily moved to make way for parties and events. The space can also be used for programming like yoga classes, wine tastings, or even concerts. The office landlord is adding a coffee bar that will serve alcohol in the evenings, upscale vending machines, and an area where Italian marketplace Eataly will provide periodic food service.
“I work in 7 World Trade Center and we don’t have one of these in my building,” Moss added. “I’m jealous.”
