Everyone went nuts Monday over Google/Alphabet’s announcement that it will expand to Hudson Square, where it plans to invest $1 billion at three different buildings — and, in contrast to Amazon’s deal in Long Island City, with no subsidies.
Nowhere were spirits higher than at CBRE, where different brokerage teams represent Google and two of the landlords.
No one would speak on the record, citing confidentiality agreements.
But from any perspective, Google’s choices are another breathtaking commitment in Hudson Square — a roughly 8.5 million-square-foot office market that’s blossomed since a 2013 rezoning to allow residential development from a fading printing district into a lively home to tech and media firms.
Disney even plans to build a new headquarters tower on a two-block site along Hudson Street that it recently bought for $650 million.
So far, Google has signed leases for only a relatively small portion of the total 1.7 million square feet it plans to add to its Manhattan portfolio — 280,000 square feet at Jack Resnick & Sons’ 315 Hudson St. and 180,000 square feet at Trinity Hudson Holdings’ 345 Hudson St., where Hines & Co. is the operating partner for the joint-venture ownership.
But sources say that it isn’t because Google doesn’t firmly plan to also move into Oxford Properties Group’s mammoth St. John’s Terminal located at 550 Washington St. — where it would take the lion’s share of its future space with a whopping 1.24 million square feet.
The landlord and Alphabet have only a “signed letter of intent,” according to Alphabet and Google Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat.
Rather, sources say, it’s simply that Google is still mulling whether to lease the building with an option to buy it later — or to buy it outright immediately.
“Their commitment to the property is total,” an insider said.
Alphabet already owns two mammoth buildings to the north — Chelsea Market and 111 Eighth Ave. It also leases significant floor space at 95 Tenth Ave. and several other locations.
Oxford declined to comment on the status of the 550 Washington St. Oxford exec Kevin Egan said in a statement, “We are thrilled Google shares our vision for St. John’s Terminal as a strategic location for their growing presence in New York and we look forward to working together with Google as we develop this world-class property.”
The Post first reported that Google had its eye on 550 Washington St. back on Oct. 29.
It followed our story earlier that month on Oxford’s plan to transform the Industrial Age remnant for “cool factor” office use — including addition of nine new floors on top of the three existing ones.
The sprawling, Industrial Age building was once a freight terminal that marked the southern-most terminus of the High Line. It’s been mostly vacant in recent decades, except for occasional photo shoots and as an event space.
The Hudson Square Business Improvement District also noted an influx of biotechnology and health care companies into the area, including New York University Langone’s BioLabs at 180 Varick St. and Flatiron Health at 161 Sixth Ave.