NEW YORK CITY-After it reached a tentative deal with Related Cos. last summer, Time Warner is reportedly close to finalizing a transaction that would move the company's headquarters from its eponymous location at Columbus Circle to Hudson Yards, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Under the terms of the deal—which could close as early as Thursday and would be the first billion-dollar-plus transaction of the year—Time Warner would acquire more than half the space in the 2.4-million-square-foot Hudson Yards complex, at Tenth Avenue and 33rd street, from Related, the project's developer. Time Inc., would move its executive offices to the new tower along with the offices of its HBO, Turner Networks, CNN and Warner Brothers offices.
Related, also the developer of the Time Warner Center, is leading a group of buyers that is expected to pay Time Warner about $1.3 billion for its Midtown space. Time Warner would lease back its space there for approximately five years, or until the new Hudson Yards tower was completed.
Financing on Hudson Yards has not yet been completed, the Journal notes. Related's buyer group is comprised sovereign-wealth funds from Abu Dhabi and Singapore; the deal would be one of the largest yet with foreign investors in the midst of a new era of interest in New York's commercial buildings from overseas.
Spanning 26 acres and still under development, Hudson Yards already has signed some major office tenants, including L'Oreal, Coach, SAP and Fairway Market. Additionally, uber restaurateur Danny Meyer—the creator of Shake Shack as well as fine dining restaurants—is set to create private dining spaces for tenants of the complex, as well as open-air cafes and a cultural facility also is planned. In total, the project is slated to include 750,000 square feet of retail space when it opens. The first phase is expected to debut next year with the remainder of the development due in 2018.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
