To New Yorkers, the One World Trade Center occupies a peculiar place in the collective mindset. The building is distinctive, with its isosceles design poking up through the skyline past all of the surrounding buildings-and yet it is oddly sterile, contrasting with the grittiness of the surrounding cityscape. Conflict over the site raged for years, and its construction dragged on for well over a decade. Today, Ground Zero (as it is overwhelmingly still called) has to toe the line between being a mass memorial and a business center. As a result, it exists in a strange cultural space. Some remain wary of the area, as they fear that rebuilding on the site of the September 11th atrocity opens up the site for future terrorist attacks in New York. Nevertheless, in the wake of the building's completion, companies have come, set up house, and begun the process of business as usual in downtown New York.

Whereas financial companies dominated the space within the Twin Towers, the One World Trade Center is increasingly filled with companies that deal in technology, media and advertising. And because such companies tend to be small, landlords are being forced to fill the gargantuan buildings on a floor-by-floor basis. As Christopher Jones, vice president of research at New York's Regional Plan Association, stated, "People were expecting financial companies to be a substantial portion of the leased space. I don't think many people would have thought that it would be virtually nothing." While nowhere near San Francisco's Bay Area in terms of technological clout, tech companies are nevertheless zeroing in on the One World Trade Center as a viable New York City business location. High 5 Games, which develops casino and social media games, acquired 87,663 square feet on floors 58 and 59 because the location was "complementary to Silicon Valley on the West Coast."

© f11photo / Shutterstock.com

The new makeup of the World Trade Center is indicative of a larger geographical shift among businesses in New York. Some large financial companies such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM  ), Citigroup (C  ), and UBS Group AG (UBS  ) have abstained from supporting company locations at 1WTC, as part of a larger trend of financial companies moving up to Midtown. Those that do remain downtown tend to be those that are "outside the mainstream", such as Morningstar Inc. (MORN  ) and IEX Group. Downtown Manhattan is increasingly "hip", filled with younger workers who are more amenable to working for smaller companies and startups. However, the change is far from total. The One World Trade Center still sits at a nexus of business in downtown New York, surrounded by business giants ranging from Goldman Sachs (GS  ), Morgan Stanley (MS  ), American Express (AXP  ), and more. The business landscape downtown may be less homogenous, but it is still bustling. And as the years go on, the One World Trade Center will undoubtedly settle into its place within the business world as well as the New York City skyline.