Google Fetches Meatpacking District Office for $600M

Google expanded its office footprint in New York City with the acquisition of the 325,000-square foot Milk Building from Jamestown. Built in 1936 and located at 450 West 15th Street, the Meatpacking District office space sold for $600 million, or $1,846 per square foot. The transaction was mediated by Cushman & Wakefield’s Doug Harmon, Adam Spies, and Kevin Donner, and CBRE’s Darcy Stacom.

The Milk Building was converted from a warehouse to an arts, entertainment, and fashion center in 1971, and was further upgraded in 2014 by Jamestown. The German pension-based investment fund bought the property from Stellar Management in 2012 for $284 million, or $875 per square foot, in an all-cash purchase.

The Milk Building, 450 West 15Th Street, New York

The eight-story building is connected via a sky bridge to Chelsea Market, another property in the Google portfolio. Moreover, after being a tenant for several years, the tech giant forked over $2.4 billion for the office space at 85 Tenth Avenue in 2018. Google now owns 111 Eight Avenue in Chelsea, which it bought in 2010 for $1.8 billion from Taconic Partners, Jamestown, and New York State Common Retirement Fund.

Google announced that it would occupy three floors in the Milk Building and will honor existing tenant leases. In an official statement released by the company’s Director of External Affairs, William Floyd, he declared: “This purchase will help us meet our short-term growth needs in Chelsea-Meatpacking. We are excited by this investment and are committed to continuing to contribute to the vibrancy of this amazing neighborhood.” Google’s current workforce in New York City is just over 8,000 employees and is likely to double over the next 10 years as it plans to grow into a $1 billion campus in Hudson Square.