111 Eighth Avenue: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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[[File:111 Eighth Avenue.jpg|thumb|287px|The old Google corporate logo on Ninth Avenue]]

In 2010, Google contracted to purchase the entire building from Taconic, in a deal reported to be worth around $1.8 billion, the biggest purchase of a U.S. office building of the year.<ref name="WSJ2011">{{Cite news |last=Pruitt |first=A. D. |date=February 11, 2011 |title=The Top Sellers of U.S. Office Buildings in 2010 |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DVB-18998 |access-date=June 12, 2022 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref name="NYT2010">{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=December 3, 2010 |title=Google Signs Deal to Buy Manhattan Office Building |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/nyregion/03building.html |access-date=June 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The deal was credited with helping revive the New York City commercial real estate market, which had slumped in the aftermath of the [[2007 financial crisis]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pristin |first=Terry |date=January 4, 2011 |title=After Hibernation, the Office Market Is Waking Up |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/realestate/commercial/05invest.html |access-date=June 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After the purchase, Google was the largest tenant, with {{convert|500000|ft2|m2}} of the building.<ref name="WSJ2011" /> Taconic continued to manage the building under contract from Google.<ref name="AmazonGoogle">{{Cite news |last=Hu |first=Winnie |last2=Goodman |first2=J. David |date=December 14, 2018 |title=What Amazon Could Learn From Google in New York City |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/14/nyregion/google-nyc-amazon-offices.html |access-date=June 12, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Since its acquisition, the building has become popularly known as the "Google Building",<ref>{{Cite web |title=111 Eighth Avenue |url=https://taconicpartners.com/properties/111-eighth-avenue/ |access-date=May 27, 2021 |website=Taconic Partners}}</ref> and it is regarded as the company's East Coast headquarters.<ref name="GooglePerks">{{Cite news |last=Stewart |first=James B. |date=March 15, 2013 |title=Looking for a Lesson in Google’s Perks |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/business/at-google-a-place-to-work-and-play.html |access-date=June 28, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

111 Eighth Avenue is adjacent to trunk [[fiber optic]] lines stretching from Hudson Street and continuing up Ninth Avenue.<ref name="wired" /> That line at the time was owned by [[Lexent Metro Connect]]. There was speculation at the time of the acquisition that Google would use its strategic location to launch a [[Google Fiber]] operation in New York City. The Google Fiber plan never came to pass and Google has denied it has any plans to bring it to New York City anytime in the near future, although in 2013 it did begin offering free Wi-Fi to its Chelsea neighbors. The Lexent dark fiber line has been acquired by [[Lightower Fiber Networks]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Alex |title=Google Rolls Out Biggest Free Wi-Fi Network in New York City |website=Mashable |date=January 8, 2013 |url=https://mashable.com/archive/google-nyc-wifi |access-date=August 1, 2022}}</ref> The building's [[meet-me room]] in its carrier hotel was one of the main network interconnections in the city as of 2006.<ref>{{cite web |title=111 Eighth Avenue Expands Meet-Me-Room |website=Data Center Knowledge |date=December 20, 2006 |url=https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2006/12/20/111-eighth-avenue-expands-meet-me-room |access-date=August 1, 2022}}</ref>