Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Google is buying Chelsea Market building for over $2B

therealdeal.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 257 posts

Re: Google is buying Chelsea Market building for over $2B

#51

Post by zephraph »

djtriptych wrote: post #19
Touche wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are other office occupants though, and it sounds like Google's going to squeeze them out. So the food offerings might stay, but it's going to begin to feel like a Google cafeteria.

Google employees already eat for free at 5-6 internal restaurants within the Google office space. I used to work at Google NYC and would occasionally eat at a nice Thai spot in Chelsea Market but most of the time I'd just take the free lunch.

Unfortunately that Thai place closed due to the rising cost of rent in the building. I work in the Food Network office in CM. For now, heh.

Re: Google is buying Chelsea Market building for over $2B

#52

Post by zephraph »

saalweachter wrote: post #12
Touche wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are other office occupants though, and it sounds like Google's going to squeeze them out. So the food offerings might stay, but it's going to begin to feel like a Google cafeteria.

Do the businesses in Chelsea Market rely heavily on traffic from the office-workers above? Store-fronts in NYC tend to be pretty disconnected from the office/residential spaces above, with a few notable exceptions.

Not at all. It's always packed with tourists. Most of my coworkers and I go outside of CM to eat because it's pretty pricy.

Re: Google is buying Chelsea Market building for over $2B

#53

Post by ceejayoz »

downandout wrote: post #24
ceejayoz wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.propertyshark.com/Real-Estate-Reports/2017/03/02... > Data analyzed by COMMERCIALCafé shows a steady rise in the average yearly sale price per square foot, starting at 2012’s $959. The price increased by 40% over 5 years, resting at $1,347 in 2016. The Y-o-Y increase was 7%. Midtown remains the highest priced NYC submarket. Last year, 50 office properties were sold at an average price of $1,531 per square…

So they’re paying above average, which was my point.

That's a really silly response.

They're paying 4% above average (and that's the 2016 average - prices may be higher in 2018). The average likely includes a range far greater than 4% depending on the properties involved.

Google is clearly not paying anything remotely describable as "shockingly high".

Re: Google is buying Chelsea Market building for over $2B

#55

Post by sumeno »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #41
RangerScience wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> existing citizens who own and live in these locations take priority Yep, wealthy land owners, clearly the group that needs protecting. Actually, can anyone name a major US city where most of the growth came from itself, rather than an influx?

> Yep, wealthy land owners, clearly the group that needs protecting. Wealthy land owners = citizens who have most of their personal wealth/retirements savings tied up in the equity of their home that has slowly appreciated over years or decades. How terribly different than tech companies and employees using copyright (source code) and vast quantities of data to reap enormous returns and salaries (respectively). This…

So NYC aside, what is your answer for cities?

How does a city improve itself without bringing in new jobs and tax revenue?

Should a city just let buildings sit there and rot instead of selling them to a company that wants to create hundreds or thousands of jobs?

Re: Google is buying Chelsea Market building for over $2B

#56

Post by hux_ »

yeukhon wrote: post #40
downandout wrote: post #6

$1600/ft seems shockingly high for commercial real estate, even in New York. Just because you have lots of money (that theoretically belongs to your shareholders) doesn’t mean you should overpay.

They want the entire building badly for years now so it makes sense to overpay and grab the deal right now before another developer comes in with a more competitive offer, knowing Google would not move away! $2B for this is not expensive, considered how much they had paid to other short-term leases. Moving to and decorating new office space will cost them many millions. If they can own the building, $2B is a big savi…

For $2B you could probably buy a nice village by the sea with great weather all year round. Having worked in downtown NYC, I'd pick a beach any day of the week. But I can see the value of a large marketing, finance and sales presence for a Google type firm in the city. Engineering not so much.

Re: Google is buying Chelsea Market building for over $2B

#57

Post by Q6T46nT668w6i3m »

downandout wrote: post #6

$1600/ft seems shockingly high for commercial real estate, even in New York. Just because you have lots of money (that theoretically belongs to your shareholders) doesn’t mean you should overpay.

Location, location, location (as others have mentioned they occupy parts of Chelsea Market and it’s across the steeet from the New York office).

Re: Google is buying Chelsea Market building for over $2B

#59

Post by notspanishflu »

cletus wrote: post #47

NYC Xoogler here. Speaking from experience, the main office (111 8th/76 9th) is amazing. I think Google's decision to buy that years ago has totally been vindicated. I'm surprised more high cash surplus companies don't do this, just to control their destiny in a way you simply can't as a tenant (eg if you're a large tenant, each floor you rent in the same building is going to get more expensive, being a tenant limits…

Has someone there considered to install a MULTI? That would be cool.

https://multi.thyssenkrupp-elevator.com/en/

Re: Google is buying Chelsea Market building for over $2B

#60

Post by make3 »

downandout wrote: post #24
ceejayoz wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.propertyshark.com/Real-Estate-Reports/2017/03/02... > Data analyzed by COMMERCIALCafé shows a steady rise in the average yearly sale price per square foot, starting at 2012’s $959. The price increased by 40% over 5 years, resting at $1,347 in 2016. The Y-o-Y increase was 7%. Midtown remains the highest priced NYC submarket. Last year, 50 office properties were sold at an average price of $1,531 per square…

So they’re paying above average, which was my point.

not much at all, as there would be a cost to moving everything elsewhere, which gives incentive to pay more & the seller knew this
Post reply on HN