Apple, Facebook reportedly vie for choice NYC office space
Apple and Facebook are reportedly fighting for a chance to lease four floors of an iconic Manhattan post office that is currently undergoing renovations for office use.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the New York Post reports Apple has applied to lease all four floors of the former James A. Farley Post Office after touring the property earlier this year.
Taking up a New York City block, white-walled building is located in the heart of the city, across from Madison Square Garden and two blocks west of the Empire State Building. Vornado Realty Trust is working to transform the former post office into a 740,000-square-foot office complex spread across four floors, including a new roof deck that will feature outdoor gardens.
Facebook initiated talks to take over the space in September, disrupting plans by Japanese advertising company Dentsu to occupy the top floor, the report said. Amazon, too, was eyeing a piece of the Farley post office, but decided to take its business elsewhere after Facebook made a play for the entire building.
Vornado's chairman, Steve Roth, is well acquainted with the social media giant, acting as its landlord at a 758,000-square-foot office at 770 Broadway since 2013.
While Apple and its massive coffers pose a threat to Facebook's claim to Farley, industry insiders believe Roth is partial to leasing the structure out to the social network.
Farley was designated a New York City landmark in 1966 and the current renovation by Vornado will deliver an underground train hall, as well as restaurants and shopping stalls.
Apple has been on the hunt for Manhattan office space for months. In February, reports claimed the tech giant was in advanced negotiations for a 60,000-square-foot location at the upscale 55 Hudson Yards. More recent rumblings in August, which first mentioned Apple's interest in Farley, suggest the company seeks up to 750,000 square feet of space in the city.
Along with seven Apple Store locations in Manhattan, Apple currently leases 45,000 square feet of office space at 100-104 Fifth Avenue.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the New York Post reports Apple has applied to lease all four floors of the former James A. Farley Post Office after touring the property earlier this year.
Taking up a New York City block, white-walled building is located in the heart of the city, across from Madison Square Garden and two blocks west of the Empire State Building. Vornado Realty Trust is working to transform the former post office into a 740,000-square-foot office complex spread across four floors, including a new roof deck that will feature outdoor gardens.
Facebook initiated talks to take over the space in September, disrupting plans by Japanese advertising company Dentsu to occupy the top floor, the report said. Amazon, too, was eyeing a piece of the Farley post office, but decided to take its business elsewhere after Facebook made a play for the entire building.
Vornado's chairman, Steve Roth, is well acquainted with the social media giant, acting as its landlord at a 758,000-square-foot office at 770 Broadway since 2013.
While Apple and its massive coffers pose a threat to Facebook's claim to Farley, industry insiders believe Roth is partial to leasing the structure out to the social network.
Farley was designated a New York City landmark in 1966 and the current renovation by Vornado will deliver an underground train hall, as well as restaurants and shopping stalls.
Apple has been on the hunt for Manhattan office space for months. In February, reports claimed the tech giant was in advanced negotiations for a 60,000-square-foot location at the upscale 55 Hudson Yards. More recent rumblings in August, which first mentioned Apple's interest in Farley, suggest the company seeks up to 750,000 square feet of space in the city.
Along with seven Apple Store locations in Manhattan, Apple currently leases 45,000 square feet of office space at 100-104 Fifth Avenue.
Comments
Sure we got rats but we love then okay but everyone here knows how to read and has a full mouth of teeth unlike your mountain top hollow.
I guess I have to defend NYC today the way you celibates defend Apple everyday. I pay city, state and Fed taxes each year and I do not own property. Taxes from my city support national programs which keep small cities and towns alive. You are clueless about New York and think movies like the 1970's "Escape from NY" are documentaries. Truth is we are more diverse, have a deep well of talent, attract the best from the entire world, the birthplace of culture, and have progressive laws which make our citizens lives better. If you are not too scared come visit us someday we have several Apple Stores for you to pray at, but leave your guns at home we don't go there.
On the salaries rank and file Apple staff are making, New York will prove to be expensive. The same money in a less overpriced city could buy a very nice lifestyle. NYC is one of the only places I can think of where millionaires live in apartments with wall shaker window air conditioning worthy of a 30 year old mobile home. If you have a car and want to live in Manhattan- forget it.
Before anyone talks about the community amenities, drop a couple thousand well paid tech employees in a medium sized city and the amenities already there will scale up and new ones will follow.
NYC does have its problems. As you've said, it is crowded because the population is near its peak. Some people like the vibrancy of that. (However, surprisingly, Manhattan is still a half-million people below its 1910 peak.) Although NYC supposedly has low per capita car ownership compared to other cities, there's traffic everywhere all the time. With the possible exception of the specialized high schools, the public schools in NYC are pretty bad compared to some rich suburban school systems. Greedy real estate interests are pushing out everything that made NYC unique in favor of national and international chains. Musicians and artists can no longer afford the city and so many music venues have closed. We have almost no bookstores and record stores left. Almost every bit of new housing is for the super rich. And because of that, after gaining population every year since 1980, according to Census Bureau estimates, we might be losing population again. (Between 1970 and 1980, NYC lost 800,000 people. It took 20 years to get back to 1970 levels.) But it's still "where the action is" and people definitely want to be here - the increase in the population since 1980 proves that.
You can't argue that most young people out of school with the proper tech or marketing skills prefer to live in Rochester, Des Moines or Dayton more than they'd like to live in NYC and other thriving cities like it. I'd argue that it's when they reach their 30's and/or have kids that they look for alternatives to large cities.