Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and 21st Century Fox are one step closer to packing up and moving downtown in Manhattan.
The companies have signed a non-binding letter of intent with developer Larry Silverstein to become anchor tenants of a new state-of-the-art tower to rise at Two World Trade Center when the companies’ current midtown leases expires in 2020.
The companies offices are currently located at 1211 and 1186 Sixth Avenue. Their future 80-plus-story home is one of four buildings being built to replace the original World Trade Center towers destroyed during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
The companies said the new headquarters would provide efficiencies and flexibility for future growth as well as help cement lower Manhattan as a dynamic new hub for media. However, no final decisions have been made.
The deal calls for News Corp. and 21st Century Fox to take 1.3 million square feet on lower levels of the 2.8 million square foot tower under separate leases. Danish architect Bjarke Ingels will design the tower.
Construction on One World Trade Center was recently completed. Watch an 11-year time-lapse video of the massive building process below.