Nomura departs World Financial Center; BofA downsizes
Amanda Fung
After months of speculation over whether the U.S. subsidiary of Nomura Holdings Inc. will remain in downtown Manhattan or relocate to midtown, the Japan-based giant has finally made a choice. Nomura will be ditching the World Financial Center to take more than 900,000 square feet at Worldwide Plaza, according to The Wall Street Journal. Worldwide Plaza's owner, George Comfort & Sons, announced the decision, a major coup for the 1.8 million-square-foot office tower that is currently 95% leased. The deal is a blow to Brookfield Office Properties, the World Financial Center's owner, which has been trying to lure tenants into more than 3 million square feet of space that will become vacant in 2013. Nomura is expected to move to Worldwide Plaza in two years.
In yet another setback for Brookfield, Bank of America has decided to dramatically downsize its downtown Manhattan office. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank tentatively agreed to keep roughly 750,000 square feet at the World Financial Center, less than one-sixth of its current lease, according to Bloomberg News.
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