Tech firms lease major Manhattan real estate in 2019

Companies like Facebook, Amazon, and Apple could continue to drive the trend

Hudson Yards has reportedly attracted the attention of major tech firms looking to expand their New York footprint.
 Max Touhey

Tech firms are expanding their grasp on Manhattan’s commercial real estate market, with this year’s leasing activity already outpacing its 2018 numbers. According to commercial real estate services and investment firm CBRE, the industry’s leasing activity accounted for 15 percent of the nearly 15 million square feet of office leases signed in Manhattan during the first half of the year, up from 10 percent in all of last year.

Commercial leasing group Cushman and Wakefield found a similar trend, citing that TAMI industries (that’s tech, advertising, media, and information) leased 74.3 percent more space in Manhattan by the end of the second quarter of 2019 than compared to the same time last year.

Major tech firms like Facebook, Amazon, and Apple could continue to drive an upswing in the industry’s commercial leasing throughout Manhattan. Apple is reportedly on the hunt for hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space in Manhattan, with sources saying the company has eyed 50 Hudson Yards—the Norman Foster-designed tower rising on 34th Street and 10th Avenue—the James A. Farley Post Office redevelopment, and One Madison Avenue. Facebook has also reportedly mulled a move to 50 Hudson Yards.

Meanwhile, Google is planning a $1 billion expansion at St. John’s Terminal in the West Village, in addition to the major investment it’s made around its current HQ at 111 Eighth Avenue.

As The Real Deal cites, it isn’t just office space that these companies are searching for: Amazon is reportedly looking to lock down major square footage for distribution warehouses and fulfillment centers throughout the outer boroughs.

Source: Zoe Rosenberg, Curbed NY