Brookfield's stock co. gain.

Lek Securities Corporation, a company that executes and clears stock purchases for large volume traders, has leased half of One Liberty Plaza's top floor.

According to a source with knowledge of the lease, the firm agreed to a ten-year deal for the space, which is about 14,000 s/f in size on the tower's 52nd floor.

Rents start at $55 per square foot for the first five years of the lease and then bump up to $60 per square foot after that, making the lease one of the most expensive to get done in Lower Manhattan in recent months. Still, with sweeping views of Lower Manhattan and beyond, and close proximity to downtown's densest juncture of subway lines, the office comes at a discount to what Lek could have rented in midtown offering comparable amenities.

Like most areas of the city, downtown landlords have had to scramble to cut rents and offer generous incentive packages in the hopes of attracting tenants amid the slump in leasing.

The situation has become especially urgent for landlords in Lower Manhattan because of the expectation that market conditions will continue to deteriorate in the neighborhood as large tenants such as Goldman Sachs, AIG and Merrill Lynch give up large blocks to relocate or downsize. Downtown landlords must also to compete with the deals available in midtown.

One Liberty however is within an area of Lower Man hattan that real estate experts say may be better poised to weather the district's problems due to its proximity to public transportation and the World Trade Center site, whose retail, memorial and public spaces many hope will have a rejuvenating effect on the neighborhood when completed.

With a facade that resembles exposed structural steel, including massive I-beams that contribute to the building's imposing profile, One Liberty is among Lower Manhattan's largest office towers. Its top floors offer stunning views, an amenity that still carries a premium, even in downtrodden markets where activity is slow.

As REW reports this week, Goldman Sachs, which has about 260,000 s/f in the building's base, decided to pull the vacant space off the sublease market and use it for its operations.

Brookfield Properties, a real estate investment trust that owns the tower, declined to comment for this story. Nov, mark Knight Frank represents Lek Securities. REW was unable to secure comment from the brokerage by press time.