NYC to Google: "Thanks for everything; now pay up!" When Google first leased space for its headquarters in a Chelsea building in 2006, it seemed like everything the city could ask for: a marquee tech giant choosing New York as its home while the city is trying to diversify its revenue base away from the financial industry, thousands of high-paying jobs in an economic growth sector located in Manhattan, a magnet for other startups and tech companies drawn to the Internet search giant. What more could a municipality ask for? Cash would be a good place to start, although the City prefers checks.
Google purchased the brick building at 111 8th Avenue last year, for $1.8 billion. This year the city's Dept. of Finance boosted its tax assessment of the address by 40% from the prior year, according to the WSJ.
The increase means that Google will receive a 66% increase in its annual property tax bill, phased in over the next five years, to $37.3 million. Google's 8th Avenue headquarters is now the fifth most valuable commercial office building in the city, up from the eight-spot it held when it purchased the building. Why the huge in hike in Google's bill? "This is a complex process," city Finance Commissioner David Frankel admitted in a statement before announcing citywide assessment results.
· Google Lifts Chelsea, So City Hikes Tax Bill [WSJ]
· Google's Christmas Gift to NYC Real Estate: $1.9 Billion in Cash [CurbedNY]
· 111 Eighth Avenue [CurbedNY]
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