Amazon to buy Lord & Taylor building

Amazon is planning on buying the site of the once iconic Lord & Taylor flagship on Fifth Avenue for 1.15 billion dollars. The news was reported by The New York Post. The building spans 11 stories and totals 660,000 square feet. Amazon has plans for the building to eventually house several thousand employees.

Originally, Lord & Taylor was to be leased to WeWork to become their headquarters, but that plan unravelled after a series of scandals cancelled WeWork's plans to go public. The current deal involves Amazon paying off 750 million dollars in construction loans that were taken out for WeWork's renovation, while the remaining 350 million dollar is equity for the building owners.

WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann will not profit from this deal. Amazon's purchase for this property equates to about 2000 dollars per square foot. Amazon has been in talks to buy the building with the parties involved including WeWork's parent company, Rhone Capital, and Hudson's Bay Co.

Last year, Amazon cancelled its plan to open a new headquarters in Queens, and now they appear to be focused on scooping up square footage in Manhattan. In addition to the new Lord & Taylor building, Amazon has also leased 335,000 square feet at Hudson Yards, and they are also planning on leasing 400,000 square feet of space at 460 W. 34th Street.

photo: via press.aboutamazon.com