111 Eighth Avenue

111 Eighth Avenue
Industry	Real estate, office building
Predecessor	Union Inland Terminal #1, Port Authority Building
Founded	1932 in Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, United States
Founder	Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Fate	Acquired by Google in 2010
Successor	Google Building
Headquarters	Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, United States
Key people	Lusby Simpson (architect)
Products	Office space, commercial real estate
Owner	Google (since 2010)

111 Eighth Avenue, commonly referred to as the Google Building and previously known as Union Inland Terminal #1 and the Port Authority Building, is a multi-functional Art Deco structure located in Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City. Rising fifteen stories high and spanning an entire city block, it provides over 4 million square feet of floor area—surpassing the size of the Empire State Building.

The Port Authority began acquiring the property in 1930 despite opposition from local residents. Finished in 1932, the building originally served as an inland terminal linked to Hudson River piers, primarily supporting warehousing and industrial activities. By the 1970s, due to the decline of Manhattan’s industrial sector, occupancy fell to about half, prompting the Port Authority to relocate to the World Trade Center in 1973. During the 1990s, the space attracted tenants from technology and telecommunications industries.

In 2010, Google acquired the property for $1.8 billion, becoming its primary occupant. Google's establishment there encouraged other tech firms to move into Chelsea, accelerating the neighborhood’s transformation. Besides Google, occupants include a cancer treatment facility and a black box theater.

Description

Situated on a full city block bounded by Eighth Avenue, Ninth Avenue, 15th Street, and 16th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, 111 Eighth Avenue was completed in 1932. The building was designed by Lusby Simpson of Abbott, Merkt & Co. It consists of 15 stories and offers roughly 4 million square feet of floor space—exceeding that of the Empire State Building. Some estimates place its size between 3.5 million and 4.8 million square feet. Each floor covers nearly 165,000 square feet with ceiling heights reaching up to 16 feet. The structure includes a rooftop helipad as well as penthouse levels at both ends.

The exterior showcases an Art Deco style highlighted by repeated seagull motifs throughout. The walls are mainly brick resting on granite bases; limestone is applied on the first two floors, while terracotta is used for copings and finials. Originally constructed for warehouse use, it bypassed many setback regulations that typically restrict buildable area in Manhattan skyscrapers.

Original function

When it opened in 1932, the building was designed with versatility in mind. The basement and first floor operated as "Union Inland Terminal #1," facilitating trucking operations between railroad lines and Hudson River shipping piers. Goods were delivered on 15th Street, sorted internally, and then dispatched from 16th Street. Four truck elevators were installed, each capable of carrying up to 40,000 pounds at speeds reaching 200 feet per minute; these elevators measured 17 by 34 feet and lifted vehicles into pits measuring approximately 3.5 feet deep by 38 by 90 feet wide. In addition, there were twelve package elevators and eighteen passenger elevators available. Unlike typical industrial buildings in New York City where freight was unloaded at street level, these elevators allowed direct delivery of cargo to tenant spaces.

The second floor contained Commerce Hall, an exhibition space, while manufacturing occupied upper floors—each floor measuring about 165,000 square feet with sixteen loading docks per level. The top floor housed offices for the Port Authority along with a 325-seat auditorium designed by engineer Aymar Embury II; this was recognized as the first auditorium built specifically for commercial use within a purely commercial building.

Present Usage

Several original industrial design features remain intact within the structure, such as freight elevators capable of accommodating trucks and floors engineered to bear substantial weight. As of , two of the initial truck elevators continue to operate, alongside nine sizable freight elevators and fourteen passenger lifts. The building’s lobbies once showcased large bronze seals of the Port Authority embedded into the flooring; one of these seals was removed and transformed into a coffee table for Austin J. Tobin upon his retirement as Port Authority director. Renowned for its unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline, the building provides direct entry to the 14th Street/Eighth Avenue subway station; initially, a staircase linked the building’s basement directly with the subway platform.

Union Inland Terminal #1 and Port Authority Commerce Building

In the early 1900s, Manhattan’s West Side experienced significant traffic congestion caused by street-level passenger and freight trains running on the West Side Line, crowded Hudson River piers, and a shortage of adequate warehouse space. To mitigate these issues, the Port of New York Authority commissioned a major inland terminal at 111 Eighth Avenue aimed at optimizing goods distribution by consolidating cargo for single-stop truck pickups instead of direct pier deliveries. Simultaneously, the West Side Improvement Project replaced the West Side Line with the original High Line elevated railway located several blocks away, which became fully operational in 1934.

Development

In May 1930, an agreement was reached between the Port Authority and New York railroads to construct a $15 million "union inland freight terminal" bounded by Eighth Avenue, 15th Street, Ninth Avenue, and 16th Street. This terminal featured office areas, extensive driveways, and approximately seven acres designated for freight sorting operations. Dubbed Inland Terminal No. 1, it was planned as the inaugural facility among several such terminals across the city. At the time of announcement, the Port Authority controlled half of the block—purchased for $1.5 million—which was mostly occupied by residential buildings and a factory. The New York City Board of Estimate approved this site in June 1930. Despite opposition from local residents, the Port Authority continued acquiring additional properties throughout that year and prepared to condemn remaining structures.

Demolition contracts were awarded in December 1930. By January 1931, agreements were signed by twelve railroads to utilize the terminal, prompting immediate commencement of demolition work. The Godwin Construction Company won contracts for excavation and foundation tasks in April 1931. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 30, 1931, with New York State governor Franklin D. Roosevelt in attendance. Later that September, Turner Construction submitted a low bid of $7.591 million to erect the superstructure. The project required vast quantities of materials including 120,000 cubic yards of concrete and 12 million bricks. Additionally, the Port Authority financed street widening around the construction site.

By September 1932, approximately 400 railroad executives toured the nearly completed terminal. Inland Terminal No. 1 was officially dedicated on September 16 despite not being fully finished; at that time it was New York City’s largest building. The total expenditure reached $16 million, with construction of the superstructure alone costing between $8 and $9 million. Starting in October 1932, shippers began utilizing a 265,000-square-foot freight terminal located on the basement and first floors; upper stories intended for light manufacturing were finalized later that year. Real estate analysts highlighted the terminal’s significant contribution to Chelsea’s commercial development. The ultimate dedication ceremony occurred on February 25, 1933, attended by officials from both the Port Authority and state government, featuring a banquet held inside one of the building’s truck elevators.

Initial Occupancy and Early Development

Before the official dedication, tenants had already begun moving into the upper levels of the building. By early 1933, approximately 800 shipping companies utilized the terminal for outgoing freight, while around 50 handled incoming shipments. The Port Authority leased the facility to several prominent railroads, including New York Central, Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley, Erie, Baltimore & Ohio, Lackawanna, New York, New Haven & Hartford, and Central Railroad of New Jersey. Each railroad was charged ten cents per ton for freight processed. Designed to accommodate one-third of the port’s annual 680,000 tons of less-than-carload freight, the terminal served shippers located in Manhattan between Houston Street and 23rd Street.

Prominent occupants during the 1930s featured the Woolworth Company—leasing 165,000 square feet under a 20-year agreement—alongside Rand McNally, New York Trust Company, and offices for the Works Progress Administration.

In October 1933, the Port Authority engaged Caldwell, Garvan & Bettini to construct Commerce Hall on the building’s second floor. Commerce Hall officially opened on December 8, 1933, inaugurating with an exhibit by Ford Motor Company. The terminal played a significant role in reducing truck congestion; for instance, on May 25, 1936, freight from 250 trucks was consolidated into just 37 trucks for ferry transport. Throughout the 1930s, Commerce Hall hosted events such as the National Business Show. Although Commerce Hall ceased operations in 1938, its space was subsequently repurposed for commercial tenants. By February of that year, despite economic challenges from the Great Depression, the building maintained full occupancy.

Mid-20th Century: 1940s to Early 1970s

In 1940, the Board of Estimate authorized an arrangement for the Port Authority to make annual payments totaling $60,000 in lieu of property taxes for the building. At that time, occupancy stood at approximately 95 percent with tenants including Sears, Roebuck and Company as well as a regional office for the Second Corps Area. Although freight volumes declined during World War II, the Port Authority preserved a strong credit standing and by 1945 had plans to develop two new freight terminals within the New York metropolitan region. By 1949 however, freight handling at this terminal had diminished considerably due to a shift from rail to truck transportation within Manhattan. To address this change, the Port Authority established inland truck terminals: New York Union Motor Truck Terminal in 1949 and Newark Union Motor Truck Terminal in 1950.

Construction on a rooftop helipad—the first in New York City—commenced in November 1950 and was completed by May 1951 to serve Port Authority executives. The helipad was notably involved in a July 1955 accident when a Bell 47 helicopter crashed onto the fifteenth floor; both occupants survived but sustained injuries. The final railroad tenants vacated the premises by 1963. During the following decade, manufacturing and shipping activity in Chelsea declined as businesses relocated elsewhere within the metropolitan area. The building functioned as headquarters for the Port Authority until their move to the World Trade Center in 1973.

Ownership under Sylvan Lawrence

In July 1973, Realopco Inc., managed by brothers Sylvan Lawrence and Seymour Cohn of Sylvan Lawrence Company, purchased 111 Eighth Avenue from the Port Authority for $24 million. The new proprietors implemented upgrades including installation of a CCTV security system, replacement of manual elevators with twelve automatic ones, lobby renovations, and secured a $25 million mortgage through Chase Manhattan Bank. Despite these enhancements, vacancy rates increased from 40% in 1975 to 50% by 1976 due to New York City’s manufacturing downturn coupled with a national recession; significant tenants such as Interstate Stores and Atlantic Department Stores relinquished large portions of space. Attempts led by Mayor Abraham Beame to attract garment manufacturers yielded limited results. After Sorg Printing Company leased space within the building, occupancy rose to 75% by early 1977 and reached approximately 90% by 1979.

Following Sylvan Lawrence’s passing in 1981, ownership was equally divided between Seymour Cohn and Lawrence’s widow Alice. Disputes regarding management of this property along with three other buildings triggered an extended legal conflict. Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, the building attracted tenants from the computer industry drawn by its expansive floor plates alongside numerous firms relocating back-office operations there. By 1992 occupancy reached around 80%, with rental rates ranging between $8 and $18 per square foot. In the late 1990s occupancy climbed further to about 87%, with Sylvan Lawrence leasing roughly 200,000 square feet during the previous year. Key tenants during this era included Citibank, New York State Insurance Fund, and Prudential Securities. Throughout this period, its primary function remained as warehouse space and back-office facilities.

Taconic acquisition

In 1997, Cohn and Alice Lawrence decided to sell 111 Eighth Avenue along with three additional properties. In November of that year, Blackacre Capital Group together with Taconic Investment Partners purchased all four buildings for $387 million, completing the transaction by January 1998. Taconic transformed 111 Eighth Avenue into a carrier hotel tailored to the rapidly expanding internet industry, capitalizing on its expansive floor areas, lofty ceilings, numerous fiber-optic links, and electrical capacity that was quintuple that of standard tenants. This strategy aligned well with Chelsea's emergence as a sought-after commercial district.

Taconic embarked on a $50 million refurbishment project that included upgrading the building’s wiring infrastructure. About one-third of the space was leased to telecommunications companies, another third to advertising and internet firms, all of which were able to pay significantly higher rents than the former industrial occupants. These new tenants played a role in accelerating the neighborhood’s gentrification, boosting demand for local retail and dining establishments.

Although Taconic imposed rigorous net-worth requirements on telecom tenants, demand remained so robust that by late 1999 they ceased accepting new applicants. Over a two-year span, average rents surged from $18 to $46 per square foot. In 1998, St. Vincent's Hospital inaugurated a 70,000-square-foot cancer treatment center within the premises. The lobby underwent upgrades in both 2000 and 2004. During the 2003 Northeast blackout, the building sustained power thanks to an underground fuel reservoir and 37 generators.

In 2006, the Atlantic Theater Company opened a 99-seat black box theater inside the building, while Lifetime Entertainment Services became its first tenant from the cable television sector. That same year, Google established its largest engineering office outside California here, occupying 300,000 square feet spread over three floors. Google's office was recognized for its campus-like environment featuring amenities such as complimentary food and a game room; it was described as "a vision of a workplace utopia" brought from Silicon Valley into Manhattan.

Google ownership

Google agreed to acquire the entire property from Taconic in 2010 for approximately $1.8 billion, representing the largest office building transaction in the United States that year. This acquisition contributed to revitalizing New York City's commercial real estate market following the Great Recession. After closing the deal, Google became the building's primary tenant with of space leased. Taconic retained management responsibilities under contract. Since then, the structure has been commonly referred to as the "Google Building" and functions as Google's East Coast headquarters.

Situated next to major fiber optic trunks formerly owned by Lexent Metro Connect (now Lightower Fiber Networks), the building’s prime location fueled speculation about a potential Google Fiber rollout in New York City—though this initiative never came to fruition. Nevertheless, in 2013 Google began offering free Wi-Fi access to residents of Chelsea. The building’s meet-me room continues to serve as an essential hub for network interconnections.

Cornell NYC Tech held its first classes in space generously provided by Google at this site in 2013 before moving to Roosevelt Island in 2017. Despite owning the building outright, Google has had to lease additional offices elsewhere due to existing tenant agreements with firms such as Nike, Deutsch Inc., and Bank of New York. After years of renting space across the street at Chelsea Market, Google acquired that property in 2018.

Google’s growth in Chelsea attracted other technology companies and further accelerated neighborhood gentrification. The New York Times observed that Google encountered relatively limited opposition locally; City Council speaker Corey Johnson described it as "a good neighbor," although some community members expressed concerns about changes to neighborhood character and effects on smaller businesses.

External links

The History of 111 Eighth Ave | Greg Estren | Talks at Google