Facebook eyeing NYC expansion at Vornado’s 770 Broadway

Social networking titan Facebook is eyeing a Manhattan expansion and possible relocation, and is considering taking 160,000 square feet at Vornado Realty Trust’s 770 Broadway, Crain’s reported.

The $60 billion company, which boasts a user base of over 1 billion, is negotiating to take the entire seventh and eighth floors at the 15-story, 1.1-million-square-foot building, located between East Eighth and East Ninth streets, several sources told Crain’s. Trendy clothier J. Crew also has its headquarters at the property, where asking rents are in the $70s per square foot.

The deal is still in the works, however, sources told Crain’s, and Facebook could yet look for space elsewhere. The company has been in the market for expansion space for months, the sources added, with executives interested in a full-blown outpost in Midtown South, which has acquired the moniker “Silicon Alley” due to its appeal to tech tenants.

Executives from Vornado declined to comment to Crain’s, and Facebook executives could not immediately be reached. [Crain’s] – Hiten Samtani