One Court Square (Google Maps)
Nov. 13, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
Update: An Amazon spokesperson said One Court Square will be the company’s temporary space while the campus at Anable Basin is designed and built out.
While Amazon has officially announced today that is it bringing new headquarters to Long Island City’s Anable Basin, the e-commerce giant will also be taking up practically all of One Court Square as part of the initial phase of the move.
Citi, which has operated out of the 50-story building since 1990, said in a release today that it plans on vacating out of the 1 million square feet it currently occupies in the tower as soon as possible to make way for Amazon.
Amazon, according to the city, will first occupy up to 500,000 square feet at One Court Square in 2019 while it works to to build out its initial 4 million square feet of commercial space around Anable Basin over the next decade.
Citi, meanwhile, said it will move approximately 1,100 employees out of its space at the tower over the first half of next year to make room for Amazon. About 3,000 employees currently work in the building.
While Citi had once occupied all 1.5 million square feet in the building, the bank announced recently that it is significantly dwindling operations in the Long Island City building, owned by Savanna, which announced its offering of 1 million square feet in the upper 31 floors of the site last year.
“Almost 30 years ago, the tallest building ever constructed in Queens opened as Citi moved into what has become an iconic tower in Long Island City,” said Michael Corbat, CEO of Citi.
“While our company and its needs have changed over time, our appreciation and affection for this neighborhood have only grown stronger,” he added. “As we have been consolidating our people in our global headquarters in Tribeca, we have still maintained a significant presence in Long Island City.”
It is unclear how long Amazon will remain in the tower while the buildout occurs.
This is a developing story that will be updated as information becomes available.
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13 Comments
Welp, there goes the borough I was born and raised in and say hello to the new Williamsburg…
I’m concerned about infrastructure and crowding the most. I don’t think that the subway can handle it. Rental prices going up is my second concern. I imagine a lot of employees will want to live in the surrounding area and Astoria. I hadn’t considered Manhattan but it’s already overcrowded there. What are the politicians doing to accommodate this?
Tom Buckley: THAT neighborhood went a long time ago. Wake up and smell the coffee. If you want progress, you have to accept the corollary consequences.
Good lord my commute transfer can’t handle this! @mta please for the love of god expand the G train back to forest hills!!
An enormous act of Corporate Welfare will now bring 25,000 jobs to LIC, an overcrowded mess with overtaxed transit hubs and clogged truck traffic already. Sure it will boost rental prices in the East 50s in Manhattan, in Astoria and LIC itself but what benefit will this company, on a mission since its inception to destroy retail, bring to the neighborhood? Does anyone realistically expect them to hire out of the nearby Projects? They’d be better off just giving everyone, including the local politicians, Amazon Gift Cards.
The Amazon move is “BAD” for LIC when will people and Politicians wake up? JVB and M. Gianaris seem to have seen the light on this. All that money in subsidies can be put to better use, I am sure.
Thanks for agreeing and supporting me, yet again MRLIC.
The majority of the subsidies that Amazon will get is PERFORMANCE BASED meaning that Amazon will have to first come here, build, occupy and hire in order to get it. On top that, Amazon is projected to conservatively generate at least $10 billion in DIRECT tax revenue to NY and probably double that amount indirectly through economic activity. Stop listening to the IDIOTS and read the fine print.
Thank you Anonymous for shedding the true light to this fantastic once in a lifetime opportunity for Northern Queens.
JVB what do you have to say?
I agreed with you some people don’t want queens to progress I don’t know what are they think all the borough like the Bronx this is going to bring a lots of job to queens and tax money company like amazon bring progress
Understand that the first wave of jobs will be technical staff, to set up infrastructure.
A helipad is being contemplated, for the use of the elite, thst will make an appalling racket. There is a helicopter landing pad in use off the east side, just off one of the ferry landings. People in business take the ferries from/to Wall Street, or midtown, for those helicopter weekends at the Hamptons.
1. No Helicopters in LIC!
2. Protect the waterfrolnt and oppose Plaxall—the largest landowner who wants to bust the light manufacturing areas nearby, build beyond tall buukdings.
The elite billionaire class have their needs, But not at the expense of light, air and quiet for everyone else.
I am pretty psyched they chose NYC but I am completely surprised and upset that they are putting it right next door to my apartment building. It seems out of scale for the neighborhood. 4 million square feet is no joke. 1 WTC is 3.5 million square feet.
Well, there goes THAT neighborhood…