Google angles for 111 Eighth Avenue buy

Google is nearing a deal to buy its massive 111 Eighth Avenue home — one of the largest buildings in Manhattan — for close to its striking $2 billion asking price, the Post reported. The company currently leases more than 550,000 square feet in the 18-story Chelsea trophy and has already made known its plans to expand in New York City. The former industrial property, whose tenants now also include Nike, WebMD and Sprint, contains 2.9 million square feet of space, putting the rumored price tag at around $690 per square foot. But unsurprisingly, Google isn’t the only one angling for control of the asset, which Taconic Partners, Jamestown and the New York State Common Retirement Fund put on the market last month with Douglas Harmon of Eastdil Secured. Local families, real estate investment trusts, sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and Asia as well as entities from Beijing, Singapore, Chile, Argentina and Israel are among the others said to be interesting in bidding on the property. [Post]