Sony is in talks to become an anchor tenant from Tishman Speyerhas been planned 99 Hudson Boulevard at Hudson Yards, the Commercial Observer has learned, and may already have the term sheet.
Sony’s current US headquarters is over 568,000 square feet 11 Madison Avebut Sony, like other corporate incumbents, is looking for a newer, bigger and more collaborative workplace for its employees.
Sony signed a lease in 2013 and moved into 11 Madison after selling well. 550 Madison Avenue headquarters in 2012 for Joseph Chetrit for $1.12 billion. Chetrit flipped three years later for $1.4 billion Olayan Americawhich completely redeveloped the tower, which features a distinctive Chippendale-style top designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee.
While Sony’s location is now in vibrant NoMad next door Madison Square Park hard to beat, there is just no room to expand in the 30-story building. It was originally designed by Harvey Wiley Corbett and Dan Everett Wade in 1928 to reach 100 stories before the Great Depression stopped the rise. The Art Deco tower was not completed until 1950 and is now owned by SL Green Realty.
It’s unclear how many spaces Sony is negotiating for at 99 Hudson Boulevard. Savills‘ Erik Schmall and Allison Bowen who represented Sony in the negotiations, but did not respond to requests for comment.
Tishman Speyer has proposed 99 Hudson Boulevard as a 48-story office building with approximately 1.256 million square feet. Public documents state that the company will begin construction on December 1.
The planned tower will sit opposite the The Javits Center on 11th Avenue between West 36th and West 37th streets and has unobstructed views of the Hudson River.
The main address of 99 Hudson Boulevard will house a new front-facing main lobby Bella’s deduction garden. Built as an all-electric LEED Gold tower, it won’t be ready for occupancy until around 2030.
Although an architect Henning Larsen and renderings revealed in 2019, it is very likely that the plan will change to increase the space to accommodate the unique needs of Sony and the desires of the current occupiers who have changed strategically since the COVID-19 pandemic.
For example, the company’s current offices at 11 Madison include a 36-seat screening room, a 110-person function room, and another 74-person function room with a performance space. The electronic giant is also synonymous with music, and with Madison Square Garden just a few blocks east, so it can be easy for artists like Bruce Springsteen, silently or Megan Moroney to stop by.
Hiccup Tishman Speyer is now a request to the city Industrial Development Agency (IDA) for $92 million in property tax exemptions and mortgage tax record exemptions. It will instead make payments instead of taxes – known as PILOT – for Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corporationlike the other towers at Hudson Yards.
Voting on the incentive package was bumped to November 17, and there are still some politicians who oppose providing incentives or support for any kind of private property.
Tishman Speyer projects almost $274 million in direct and indirect taxes will be generated by the tower, along with almost $583 million in taxes and indirect taxes due to jobs created in the building that will eventually have around 5,900 buildings, tenants and service employees.
In the application for the IDA, the developer stated that it also obtained a loan of $1.477 billion with equity of $1.2 billion.
Tishman Speyer declined to comment.