BEBETO MATTHEWS
The devil will now be wearing Prada downtown. Condé Nast Publications has sealed a deal to move to 1 World Trade Center when the building is complete in 2014—becoming the much-needed corporate anchor for ground zero. Port Authority, the government entity that currently manages the reconstruction of the site of the 9/11 attacks, lobbied hard to bring the media company to the glittering office tower, fearing that corporations would stay away from the site and it would end up being only a monument. Port Authority will assume control of Condé Nast’s current lease at 4 Times Square, a deal that is worth an estimated $2 billion over four years. In the fine print of the deal, officials agreed that Condé Nast’s famous armada of black town cars can be prescreened by police for regular access to the front of the building.