Verizon Sells Condo Interest in Downtown HQ

NEW YORK CITY-Verizon said Thursday it had reached an agreement to sell the upper floors of its headquarters building at 140 West St. in Lower Manhattan; the condominium interest sale to an affiliate of Magnum Real Estate Group is worth $274 million. The telecommunications giant, which will continue to occupy space at 140 West, plans to relocate its headquarters to space it owns at 1095 Ave. of the Americas in Midtown.

As with an acquisition that JDS Development Group made from Verizon in 2009, the Walker Tower at 212 W. 18th St. in Chelsea, the upper floors of the historic 32-story tower at 140 West will be redeveloped into residential condos. John Vasquez, Verizon's SVP of global real estate, says the conversion of 140 West from a traditional telecom hub to a multi-purpose building “will contribute meaningfully to the city's long-term vision for a vibrant World Trade Center neighborhood.”

Verizon will retain approximately 60% of 140 West, representing floors two through 10 and four of the sub-basement levels, for necessary telecommunications switching equipment and administrative offices, and will keep 600 employees there. 

This is consistent with other partial building sales the company has conducted in New York City. Along with the Walker Tower and 1095 Sixth Ave., where it was headquartered before selling off most of the tower in 2005, the company sold a condo interest in its switching tower at 375 Pearl St., also Downtown. It is now the tallest data center in the world after redevelopment by Sabey Data Centers.

As announced previously, the company is moving approximately 1,100 employees, mainly customer service representatives, from 140 West to a Verizon-occupied building at 395 Flatbush Ave. Extension in Brooklyn. That property will be upgraded, with enhancements including a fitness center and centralized training facilities. 

A Cushman & Wakefield team led by Josh Kuriloff marketed the 140 West space on behalf of Verizon. The telecom company currently has the property's ground-floor space on the market to find a good fit with redevelopment. 

Since the 140 West St. building contains switching and other telecommunications equipment, the sale must be approved by the New York Public Service Commission. The company filed the necessary paperwork on Thursday, and asked the commission to approve the sale by Nov. 15.