Forest City Ratner president and CEO Bruce C. Ratner, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz and Dr. Michael A. Stocker, president and CEO of anchor tenant Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield were joined by officials from the New York City Human Resources Administration--also a major tenant--for the topping-out ceremony. To commemorate the event, Ratner, Stocker and several city officials and civic, business and community leaders signed the steel beam before it was installed.

"The topping-out of this building brings us one step closer to completing our vision for MetroTech Center," said Ratner. "And, as the first commercial office building developed in the city since 9/11, this achievement stands as a testament to New Yorkers' historic determination to endure and thrive in the face of adversity," he added.

Health insurance giant Empire will take 395,000 sf in the 670,000 building and will house 1,300 employees displaced in the World Trade Center attacks, where the firm occupied 450,000 sf. HRA has leased 193,000 sf for 700 workers in a deal negotiated by Robert Ballard, Frank Coco and Richard Donohue of Cushman & Wakefield.Then-Insignia/ESG powerbroker Mary Ann Tighe (prior to her leaving I/ESG for CB Richard Ellis), Joan Meixner and Howard Fiddle negotiated the long-term lease for Empire Blue Shield. (The same Tighe-led team negotiated a 105,000-sf Midtown lease for the firm in October.) Asking rents at MetroTech are in the high $30s and sources say the insurer made a deal in the mid-$30s for its space.