Related Buys WarnerMedia’s Hudson Yards Space in $2.2B Sale Leaseback

NEW YORK CITY—An affiliate of Related Companies has entered a contract to purchase WarnerMedia’s 1.5 million square-foot office condominium at 30 Hudson Yards for approximately $2.2 billion. Related is the developer of Hudson Yards.

In 2014, WarnerMedia became a partner in the development of the building. As part of the new agreement, Related will lease back the space to WarnerMedia until early 2034. WarnerMedia’s global headquarters will occupy 26 floors of the 73-floor skyscraper.

The parties expect the transaction to close late in the second quarter of 2019.

WarnerMedia was represented by a Cushman & Wakefield team led by Doug Harmon, Adam Spies and Kevin Donner. In pricing, this is the largest Manhattan deal to date this year. It has been the largest deal since Harmon’s representing Jamestown in the $2.4 billion sale of Chelsea Market to Google which closed in March 2018. In 2016, Harmon also led the recapitalization of 10 Hudson Yards, the first building completed at Hudson Yards which was anchored by Coach. In that deal, Allianz bought 44% of the building valuing the asset at $2.15 billion. With Time Warner (now called WarnerMedia) Harmon had sold the company’s interest in its building at the Time Warner Center to Related, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Singapore’s GIC for $1.3 billion. This had allowed Time Warner to become the lead and majority interest owner in 30 Hudson Yards.

Architects Kohn Pedersen Fox designed the commercial office tower at 30 Hudson Yards, which connects to the Shops & Restaurants of Hudson Yards. A direct underground connection to the No. 7 subway station will also be created.

The 2.6 million square-foot building has views of both the city and the Hudson River. The ground floor lobby with entrances on Tenth Ave. and Hudson Blvd. features installation art by the Spanish artist and sculptor Jaume Plansa.

The building will also feature at 1,100 feet, the highest observatory deck in the city—aptly named Edge. The public will be able to go to the edge, walking out 65 feet onto a large glass floor, standing where nine-foot angled glass walls will create dramatic views. The Hudson Yards website describes the experience where visitors will “walk straight out into the sky” and “lean out over Manhattan.” Those without acrophobia can enjoy the Edgy views in 2020 when construction is completed.

WarnerMedia employees have already moved into the building. Other 30 Hudson Yards tenants include KKR, Wells Fargo Securities, DNB Bank and Related’s corporate offices.

“Hudson Yards has shifted the center of gravity of New York City bringing visionary business leaders, dynamic retail, hotel and cultural amenities and gracious public space that welcomes the public to visit and enjoy,” says Related Companies CEO Jeff Blau.

Hudson Yards officially opened to the public last month. It also includes a new five-acre public space with gardens; the interactive staircase sculpture Vessel; and more than 100 stores and dining options at the one million square-foot mall.

Tenants have begun moving into 55 Hudson Yards as well as 30 Hudson Yards. Residents are moving into the apartments at 15 Hudson Yards.

The building at 10 Hudson Yards opened in May 2016. It’s home to Guardian Life Insurance Co., L’Oréal USA, Tapestry Inc., The Boston Consulting Group, SAP, VaynerMedia, Intersection and Sidewalk Labs.

55 Hudson Yards is home to Boies, Schiller & Flexner; Engineers Gate; HealthCor Management; Milbank LLP; Point72 Asset Management; Silver Lake; Third Point LLC; MarketAxess; and Mount Sinai Health System.

35 Hudson Yards will be the location for Equinox’s headquarters and HSS.

50 Hudson Yards will house BlackRock’s world headquarters.

As the largest LEED certified neighborhood in New York City, Hudson Yards is on a microgrid and has two cogeneration plants. This is projected to save 24,000 MT of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases from being emitted annually by generating electricity and hot and cold water for the neighborhood—more than twice as efficiently as conventional energy sources.

Additionally, the development will collect nearly 10 million gallons of storm water from building roofs and public plazas. The water will be filtered and reused in mechanical and irrigation systems. Hudson Yards will also offer 1,000 new or permanently preserved affordable units onsite and in the neighborhood, 14 acres of public space and a new K-8 public school.

Related states that Hudson Yards has contributed more than $10 billion to the city’s GDP during construction and serving as a significant source of revenue to the MTA. Once fully developed Related states that Hudson Yards is projected to contribute nearly $19 billion annually to New York City’s GDP, raising nearly $1 billion annually in state and city taxes.

The developer also anticipates that the companies and buildings at Hudson Yards will bring over 57,000 jobs to the neighborhood, estimating that over the next six months, more than 600 new jobs will be filled by the developers and management team to provide essential services at the development. Related states that most of those job will be represented by SEIU 32BJ.

Spanning 28 acres, the $25 billion Hudson Yards is the largest private development built in the history of the US. The district runs from W. 43rd Street down to W. 28th Street and Seventh Avenue to Eleventh Avenue and Hudson River Park.