Amazon may not be turning its back on New York City just yet.
The tech giant infamously canceled its plans to build a new headquarters in Long Island City on Valentine's Day this year, but it is now considering taking more than 100K SF at Brookfield’s Manhattan West project, the New York Post reports.
Amazon is said to be looking at leasing “at least 100K SF or much more” at One Manhattan West and the yet-to-be built Two Manhattan West, the Post reports, citing an unnamed source.
A representative from Brookfield denied there were negotiations. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Amazon told the Post it would not comment on “rumors or speculation.” However, the paper reports the company was already seriously considering Two Manhattan West for its HQ2 before it settled on the Queens waterfront location, and the interest had been renewed.
One Manhattan West is set to open this year, while Two Manhattan West isn’t due to open until 2022. Sources speculated to the Post that Amazon could take space at One Manhattan — which counts EY, Skadden Arps, Accenture and the National Hockey League as tenants — until the second building is ready.
Amazon has 5,000 employees in the city, and already leases space at Brookfield’s 5 Manhattan West nearby. When it announced it was backing out of the Long Island City deal back in February, Amazon said it would continue to grow its teams in the city.
Amazon’s decision to kill the HQ2 plan was met with shock and dismay from many in the business community, some of whom suggested it would do major damage to the city’s ability to lure companies.
Others have argued, however, that the impact of the new headquarters, which was due to bring 25,000 jobs, would not have made a huge difference to the city’s overall economic position.
HQ2 would have made a transformational impact in Long Island City, which has been struggling to get commercial tenants, but on Manhattan's Far West Side, leases north of 100K SF happen with regularity.
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