Willis Group Holdings said it plans to consolidate its U.S. headquarter operations under one roof after signing a long-term lease for office space at the World Financial Center in lower Manhattan.
The insurance broker said yesterday that it will lease 205,000 square feet of One World Financial Center, moving operations from its current Hanover Square and Wall Street Plaza offices. The complex is located in Lower Manhattan in Battery Park City near the World Trade Center site.
Willis said that it anticipates moving into the new space during the second quarter of 2007.
A spokeswoman for Willis said, by e-mail, that the firm has committed to a 20 year lease, but she declined to reveal how much it would be paying.
Willis is the second major insurance brokerage firm to relocate offices to Lower Manhattan after the terror attacks of 9/11. In 2003, Aon reopened office space in Lower Manhattan on Water St.
The firm lost 176 employees in the World Trade Center after its destruction by terrorists and its return to Lower Manhattan was hailed as an emotional return to the area, aiding in the redevelopment of the business community there.
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