Google Doubles Down on New York IT Jobs

Google Doubles Down on New York IT Jobs Google Doubles Down on New York IT Jobs Google, this morning, made a significant gamble on New York City and its ability to supply the high-quality technology employees, when it agreed to pay between $ 1.8 billion and $1.9 billion (what’s $100 million?) for one of the largest office buildings in Manhattan. According to the New York Times’s Charles V. Bagli: The contract not only signals a rebounding real estate market… but also reflects a vote of confidence by an expanding technology firm in New York City. The building, once the headquarters of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is already outfitted to support major network traffic and data storage requirements. About 25 percent of the space is dedicated to a data center and telecommunications equipment and other tenants include Sprint, Verizon, Lifetime Networks, WebMD and several IT service providers, according to the Wall Street Journal and Data Center Knowledge. Google already leases 500,000 square feet of the 3 million square feet at 111 Eight Avenue that takes up a full block in Chelsea bounded by Eighth and Ninth avenues and 15th and 16th streets, but their landlord status positions Google to grow as needed and expect them to hire and expand, one source told the New York Post. “Google will gobble up the space like Pac-Man,” said a source of the firm’s current 500,000 square feet occupancy and its future plans to take over space in the building as it becomes available. “Google will grow and it’s a lot of jobs for the city,” the source said. UPDATE (11:54 a.m.): Further evidence that Google may move quickly to hire and expand: The company is running out of space in its current New York offices, writes Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Land. Google moved into this building as part of their expansion plans in the big Apple back in early 2006. I remember when the office space they had was virtually empty. Last time I visited the offices, it was jammed packed and they needed more space. Google currently leases about 500,000 square feet of this building. Update (2:22 p.m.): Details from Channelnomics on the innards at 111 Eight Avenue, which is being characterized by many as a “Carrier hotel,” a term used to describe a  building with extensive space dedicated to telecommunications hosting equipment and data networking service centers. Channelnomic’s Larry Walsh: The company could simply want easier access to space as its sales and engineering operations in Manhattan expand… There’s also the possibility that Google wants greater access to telecom resources as it continues to expand its voice and cloud application offerings. (Image by edenpictures via Flickr, CC2.0)