Penguin Random House is closing the book on its Soho locations.
The book publishing giant plans to move its employees from 345 and 375 Hudson Street in Soho to its offices at SL Green Realty and Ivanhoe Cambridge’s 1745 Broadway, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The terms of the company’s lease at the building were not immediately clear, but the move will make Penguin essentially the “sole occupant” of the commercial portion of the Midtown building, said Penguin Random House Chief Executive Markus Dohle. Penguin Random House already lays claim to floors two through 25 and about 685,000 square feet, but in October was rumored to be vacating about half that space.
In a memo to employees, Dohle said SL Green [TRDataCustom], which owns 56.9 percent of the office space, presented the company with an “unanticipated, one-time opportunity to accommodate us all in our Midtown location at a greatly reduced long-term rent.”
After the move, which is slated for early 2019, more than 2,400 employees will work at the Midtown office. The company expects the office consolidation to save $20 million annually. Pearson, one of two controlling parent companies of Penguin Random House, leases about 300,000 square feet at 375 Hudson and about 140,000 square feet at 345 Hudson, the Commercial Observer reported.
The 52-story, mixed-use building at 1745 Broadway, which consists of three adjacent towers, was developed by the Related Companies and completed in 2003.
Residential units in the building, known as Park Imperial Apartments, start on the 27th floor. SL Green acquired a minority stake in the building in 2007 and then bought up the Witkoff Group’s shares to secure a majority stake. Along with minority owner Ivanhoe Cambridge, SL Green put the office portion on the market for $700 million last fall. [WSJ] — Kathryn Brenzel