Pentagon wants to lease out space at Trump Tower

The 68-story Trump Tower boasts luxury amenities and sweeping views of the New York City skyline.

New York, Feb 9: A Pentagon spokesman on Wednesday said that it was interested in leasing a "limited" amount of space at the Trump Tower in Manhattan to the Department of Defence.

The 68-story skyscraper, where President Donald Trump resides when he's not in the White House, boasts luxury amenities and sweeping views of the New York City skyline. "The space is necessary for the personnel and equipment who will support the POTUS at his residence in the building," NBCnews quoted Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. JB Brindle as saying.

He said the Defence Department would work through "appropriate channels and in accordance with all applicable legal requirements" during the leasing process. There is already a large contingent of Secret Service personnel who maintain a round-the-clock presence at the address, which accommodates both residential and commercial tenants, the report added.

Available commercial space there runs $80 to $100 per square foot - and a full floor can pull $1.2 million to $1.5 million a year, said Jared Horowitz, of the real estate firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, which leases commercial space at the building. Any Pentagon rental is sure to raise questions of conflict as the federal government would be sending tax dollars to the Trump Organisation, which is run by the Trump family and owns the building.

IANS