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.
