Time Warner is leaning towards moving its million-square-foot headquarters to the Hudson Yards megaproject on Manhattan’s far West Side, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Time Warner is shopping for about 1.3 million square feet and could choose one or multiple far West Side locations, likely from sites owned by Extell Development, Brookfield Office Properties, Joseph Moinian and Related Companies, sources told the Journal. The company has already had multiple meetings with developers, the sources added.
Time Warner executives have previously said a move to Hudson Yards would help them consolidate employees from 15 buildings, and would rejuvenate the Time Warner brand. The media behemoth will decide in June, a person familiar with the matter told the Journal. If the move goes through, it will be a major boost for the city’s goal of transforming the area from an industrial zone into a modern office and high-end residential district.
Trendy retailer Coach recently agreed to take 600,000 square feet at Hudson Yards, in Related’s South Tower at 10th Avenue and West 30th Street. But since Coach only had to relocate from its headquarters a few blocks away, the next big tenant signing will likely be more significant for the area, Jones Lang LaSalle broker Derek Trulson, who represents Extell’s site in the area, told the Journal.
“Coach was already there. We also need tenants to have this willingness to relocate and spend money to move,” Trulson said.
When Time Warner officially began its search for a new headquarters last year, it also eyed sites in other areas, such as the World Trade Center and Brookfield Place.
Time Warner is also looking to sell its 1.1 million-square-foot headquarters at Columbus Circle, in a sale that is expected to bring in north of $1 billion. A buyer is likely to be in place by the end of May, a person familiar with the deal told the Journal.
Time Warner would move most of the divisions in its Columbus Circle site to Hudson Yards, including executive offices, HBO and potentially CNN, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.
“There is such a unique window of time” for a company like Time Warner to move its headquarters, Eastdil Secured’s Doug Harmon, who is marketing the tower, told the Journal. [WSJ] —Hiten Samtani