(WSJ) Google is expanding into physical office space with a $2.1 billion acquisition of Manhattan office building, amid continuing uptake of remote working.
Google is currently a tenant in the 1.3 million-square-foot building. The search giant wants to exercise an option to buy the building in the first quarter of 2022.
Google prefers buying buildings since it is easier for the company to reconfigure them later. The company has also embraced remote working more aggressively than most of its peers since the spring of 2020.
The deal happens even as other tech giants such as Facebook, Amazon, and Apple take advantage of cheaper building rates in the US.
Cities are welcoming big tech into office space due to boosts of property-tax revenue and an influx of well-paid staff. There are concerns of an uptick in an apartment and commercial rent prices due to the influx of big tech.
The deal for the office space is the most expensive of a single US office building in the pandemic era. It is also one of the most expensive in US history.
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