Google Confirms Purchase of 111 8th Avenue

111-8th-Avenue

The exterior of 111 8th Avenue, one of the premier carrier hotels in Manhattan.

Google today confirmed the reports that it has purchased 111 8th Avenue, one of Manhattan's largest buildings and a key hub for Internet traffic. In a post on its corporate blog, Google said it had closed a deal with the partnership of Taconic Investment Partners, Jamestown Properties and the New York State Common Retirement Fund to purchase 111 Eighth Avenue. No price was mentioned, but reports in New York media place the sale price at $1.9 billion.

"As part of the deal, we’ve retained Taconic Management Company to continue the leasing oversight services and management of the building on our behalf, providing the same level of customer service the building’s tenants have come to expect," write David Radcliffe, Google's VP of Real Estate and Workplace Services. " We believe that this is a great real estate investment in a thriving neighborhood and a fantastic city."

Radcliffe noted that Google's New York operations had humble beginnings "in a Starbucks on 86th Street with one person in 2000—a scrappy, highly-caffeinated sales team."

11 Eighth Avenue is among the world’s most wired buildings. It was originally built as the Port Authority Commerce Building in 1932, and was redeveloped for telecom use by Taconic in the late 90s.The enormous building houses major data center operations for Digital Realty Trust, Equinix, Telx and many other providers and networks, as well as 500,000 square feet of office space for Google