Even as hybrid and remote work become the norm, Google is doubling down on offices, with a deal announced Tuesday to buy the former St. John's Terminal in Manhattan for $2.1 billion.
The former freight terminal for the High Line, the building is already being radically reconstructed, with an expected opening in 2023. Google was leasing the 1.3 million square-foot space but will now buy it outright.
"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." Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said in a blog post.
The additional space, Porat said, would let Google ultimately grow its New York workforce to more than 14,000 people.
The Wall Street Journal reported the sale was one of the biggest for an office building in U.S. history, and the largest since the pandemic began.
The Washington Street building opened as a freight terminal in 1934, was decommissioned in 1960, and was later turned into a warehouse and then commercial space for financial services companies. The current owner, Oxford Properties, bought it in 2018.
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