Facebook sets its sights on Midtown’s former Farley Post Office for new office space
Rendering courtesy of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill via Gov. Cuomo’s office
Facebook has been on the hunt for office space in NYC for several months and now the tech giant has set its sights on the former James A. Farley Post Office, as the New York Post first reported. Sources say the company plans to lease all 740,000 square feet of office space currently being built in the old post office across from Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. The landmarked building—redubbed Moynihan Train Hall—is being redeveloped by a team including Related, Vornado Realty Trust, Skanska USA and architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It’s on track to open next year.
Though a deal hasn’t been inked yet, the Post reported “talks are advanced enough that the US arm of Japanese advertising firm Dentsu has been derailed from its play to take over [the building’s] fourth floor.”
Previous reports showed Facebook interested in space at several Hudson Yards properties, including 35 and 55 Hudson Yards and still-under-construction 50 Hudson Yards. Sources told the Post that those leases are still on the table and Facebook will likely scoop up square footage at both sites, which are just a few blocks apart.
Facebook’s current offices include 758,000 square feet at 770 Broadway—also a Vornado property—and 266,000 square feet at 225 Park Avenue. Their lease at 770 Broadway expires in 2025 and it’s not clear yet what would happen to the existing offices should a new deal go through, or if Vornado would cut them a deal to get out of the old lease faster.
As 6sqft previously reported, the developers of the Farley building were at one point hoping to attract biotech and pharmaceutical businesses as tenants. Though the structure’s recognizable and historic exterior will remain largely the same, inside will be a mix of commercial spaces on the ground floor, offices on the upper floors, and an underground train hall with direct access to LIRR and Amtrak trains.
[Via New York Post]
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