Amazon in Talks for 350K SF Manhattan Office Lease
The move would put the company close to its Manhattan headquarters.
Amazon could be looking for a new working space after the e-commerce giant implemented return-to-office orders.
The Seattle-based company is in talks to lease a property at 452 Fifth Ave in Manhattan, located in Midtown, according to a report from the New York Post. Should Amazon strike a deal, which is not a foregone conclusion, per the news outlet, it would secure 350,000 square feet worth of space in the 10-story tower for its employees.
The space in the building, owned by Israel-based real estate firm PBC, is operated by HSBC. The British bank is set to move to a different building (The Spiral) in 2025, thus creating a vacancy.
The move by Amazon would take the company closer to its Manhattan headquarters at 424-434 Fifth Ave, which was the former building for Lord & Taylor.
Also, it would come after the tech giant recently mandated that all 350,000 of its corporate workforce RTO five days a week. The post-pandemic orders are set to take effect starting January 2, 2025.
“When we look back over the last five years, we continue to believe that the advantages of being together in the office are significant,” Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon wrote in the memo.
“We’ve observed that it’s easier for our teammates to learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture. Collaborating, brainstorming, and inventing are simpler and more effective, teaching and learning from one another are more seamless, and teams tend to be better connected.”
New York has been one of the leaders in the nation for office recovery since the pandemic. In August, Manhattan offices were found to be 73.4 percent as busy compared with the same month in 2019, according to a recent report from Avison Young. That’s up significantly from the national average of 60.4 percent.
Meanwhile Bruce Mosler, chairman of Cushman & Wakefield, told Fox Business that those neighborhoods incorporating the live, work, and play surroundings are finding the most success. These unique elements ”make a city like New York extraordinary,” he said.