Business & Tech
Amazon Eyes Former Lord & Taylor Building For Offices: Report
The Fifth Avenue department store is now owned by WeWork, which paid $850 million for the Midtown building.
MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Amazon may have walked away from a deal to bring its new headquarters to Long Island City, but the tech giant may have its eyes set on another New York City expansion at the former Lord & Taylor flagship building in Midtown, according to reports.
The Seattle-based company is negotiating a deal with WeWork — the co-working company that bought the Lord & Taylor building for $850 million — to lease office space at the former Fifth Avenue and West 38th Street department store, the Wall Street Journal first reported. Amazon could even lease the entire building, which could result in as many as 4,000 new offices for the company, according to the report.
The talks are part of a push by Amazon to expand its footprint in New York City after pulling out of the Long Island City deal. The company has also eyed developments near Hudson Yards and office space at the renovated James A. Farley Post Office. The Eighth Avenue building is currently being transformed into a new train hall with office and retail space by the state.
Find out what's happening in Midtown-Hell's Kitchenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
If Amazon ends up striking a deal with WeWork the company will have to decide whether offices at the Lord & Taylor building will be filled with workers at its other location or with new positions, the Wall Street Journal reported. Amazon currently has more than 5,000 eployees working in the city.
Amazon killed the largest economic development deal in city and state history in February when it pulled out of a deal to build a sprawling campus in Long Island City. The move followed aggressive protests from local elected officials and activists opposed to the nearly $3 billion incentive package the tech company was to receive for the project.
Find out what's happening in Midtown-Hell's Kitchenfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Seattle-based firm initially announced that it would build its second and third headquarter campuses in Queens and in the Washington suburb of Arlington, Virginia following a nationwide search that had local and state officials around the country trying to woo the company.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
