Google is expanding — permanently — in NYC!
The tech conglomerate just announced they are in the process of buying the 1.3-million-square-foot building known as St. John’s Terminal on Manhattan’s west side which they were previously leasing, though no employees have been working there yet as it undergoes renovations.
The deal is set to close in the first quarter of 2022.
Google already has a 15-story building in Chelsea, and has added over 5,000 employees over the last three years in NYC — growing its total to 12,000 in the city. They’ve been outfitting the St. John’s Terminal campus over the past few years, which also includes buildings at 315 Hudson Street and 345 Hudson Street, to create a whopping 1.7 million-square-foot campus.
The area the new building is in — Hudson Square — is also where Disney will be building its New York headquarters, and where companies like Squarespace and Warby Parker call home. Some may say the west side waterfront neighborhood is becoming its own tech/media hub…
Though some have wondered about the practicality of purchasing office space with so many workers still remote (and Google even moved their official return to offices to 2022 due to the Delta variant), CFO Ruth Porat shared in a blog post: “As Google moves toward a more flexible hybrid approach to work, coming together in person to collaborate and build community will remain an important part of our future. It is why we continue investing in our offices around the world.”
She also stated that the campus will be their largest office space outside of California, and will act as the New York headquarters for their Global Business Organization (which includes their sales and partnership teams).
Construction will finish and the office will open to workers at 550 Washington St. in mid-2023.